Four Years of War – Europe's Illusions Are Over
As I write these lines, it is only +10°C in my office in Kyiv. I am wearing a hat and a winter jacket – this has become our office dress code this winter. At home, the electricity went out at 3 a.m. and was supposed to return late in the evening – if there are no new strikes. Waiting for the power to come back has become routine. It is exhausting.
This winter has seen the most talk about "peace," and at the same time the highest number of attacks on civilian infrastructure by Russia since 2022. The Kremlin's strategy is simple and cynical – exhaust Ukrainians with cold, force them to accept "peace" on any terms through suffering. Ukrainians have never had illusions about our enemy. The rest of the world has finally lost theirs too – I hope.
The Habit of War
It is painful to admit, but the world has grown used to the Russian-Ukrainian war – even though over these four years it has become more brutal and more cynical. Mass war crimes against civilians in the heart of Europe, committed daily by the Russian army, seem to have become the new normal.
Drone "safaris" targeting unarmed civilians in frontline towns. Second strikes hitting rescue workers clearing the rubble. Shelling of maternity wards and children's hospitals – this is now regular Russian military practice. Missile attacks on apartment buildings continue night after night. In all of 2025, there were only 4 (!) quiet nights when Russia did not launch drones toward Ukraine.
It is possible to grow tired of bad news. It is possible to feel irritated that Ukrainians refuse to surrender. But only after four years have many in Europe truly begun to understand: the Russian threat is not only Ukraine's problem. It is a threat to European security as a whole.
Russian missiles can reach any European city. Russian drones are already testing NATO's response to their presence in European skies. They have been spotted over Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Poland – and even Denmark. Putin is no longer hiding. He openly provokes Alliance states. New battlefield technologies only make this easier for him.
A Country of Drones
Four years into the war, the battlefield increasingly resembles scenes from a dystopian film. The front line looks nothing like what NATO doctrines once imagined. Today, it is what soldiers call a "kill zone" – roughly 20 kilometers wide between the warring sides and all this space controlled not by soldiers, but by drones, from the ground to the sky.
Evacuation, ammunition delivery, reconnaissance, target strikes – drones in Ukraine increasingly replace people. More than 60% of enemy losses in 2025 were caused by drones. It is drones that are now preventing Russia from advancing deeper into Ukrainian territory.
This technological breakthrough happened because we had no other choice. Weapons deliveries from partners were often delayed. Ukraine had to look for asymmetric solutions – and made a leap in drone technology.
Up to 80% of long-range drones used at the front are now produced in Ukraine. FPV drones have become a mass weapon: more than 160 Ukrainian companies manufacture them, with production capacity exceeding eight million units per year.
Defense Industry as a Shield
Today Ukraine produces not only drones. We manufacture artillery systems, modernize armored vehicles, and develop long-range strike capabilities. Nearly half of all weapons used at the front are now made domestically.
In September 2025, Ukraine's defense industry produced over $11 billion worth of equipment, compared to $9 billion a year earlier. Over four years, the sector has expanded thirty-five times, with total capacity now estimated at $55 billion. Crucially, Ukraine's defense industry produces exactly the types of weapons most needed on today's battlefield.
This growth was notably accelerated by a Danish initiative, under which partner countries began placing direct orders with Ukrainian manufacturers to supply the front. Denmark demonstrated leadership, and the model proved effective. In 2025, $6.7 billion in international support was directed to Ukraine's defense industry, including funding from the EU, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, and Denmark.
In 2026, for the first time since the full-scale invasion began, Ukraine opened defense exports. Joint defense companies are now emerging across Europe, producing equipment based on Ukrainian technology. Ten such facilities are currently being prepared in the EU. One will soon open in Denmark.
The Choice for the Strong
Europe faces a choice.
The first path is to hope that the United States will always remain the ultimate security guarantor. But recent years have shown that America is increasingly focused on domestic priorities and may not wish to act as the world's policeman indefinitely. For Denmark, especially after the Greenland crisis, relations with the United States will never be quite the same.
The second path is to build a strong European defense of its own. A strong European defense-industrial base is not militarism. It is insurance against war.
A strong defense industry is one of the pillars that allows Ukraine to stand today. And that same strength can become a key partner in a renewed European security architecture. Ukraine has experience, technology, and production capacity – and now that Europe has finally recognized the need to act, it has the opportunity to build its defense system for the long term.
A strong Europe is out of Russia's league – but only if Europe invests in itself. Let us be honest: time is limited. Ukraine has already bought Europe for four years. A Russian attack is not a distant possibility. It is the new reality.
Halyna Yanchenko, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament,
translation of the opinion column for Weekendavisen.
Блог автора – матеріал, який відображає винятково точку зору автора. Текст блогу не претендує на об'єктивність та всебічність висвітлення теми, яка у ньому піднімається. Редакція "Української правди" не відповідає за достовірність та тлумачення наведеної інформації і виконує винятково роль носія. Точка зору редакції УП може не збігатися з точкою зору автора блогу.
