Baltic Sea Region Forum article series: Ukraine – the test field of resilience
Antti Hartikainen's writing begins a series of articles related to the Baltic Sea Region Forum. The series has been produced in cooperation with the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.
Antti Hartikainen
Senior Strategic Adviser
Head of the EUAM Ukraine 2019–2023
Society’s resilience – its ability to withstand crises and recover from them – has been a hot topic in Europe since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Ukraine by Russia. Ukraine’s crisis preparedness and the country’s ability to adapt and recover have been tested under extreme conditions for the past two years. The EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine) is one of the most significant players in strengthening the resilience in Ukraine. The basic task of the operation is to support the reform of the civilian security sector. The reforms are believed to increase trust in government authorities, which is a key factor in adjusting to and recovering from crisis situations. In spring 2022, the operations were quickly adapted to the wartime situation, and a large proportion of resources were directed specifically to actions to strengthen society’s resilience to crisis and recovery capacity.
After the full-scale invasion started, millions of people immediately attempted to flee Ukraine. With the cessation of the maritime connections, cargo traffic was left to border crossings accessible by road and rail. Therefore, outgoing passenger traffic and inbound cargo traffic at the borders with EU member states became massively congested. The shortage of fuel and medical supplies was very concrete. In support of the situation, the EUAM immediately established a border support operation in the early stages of the attack, initially with the task of advising and supporting people queuing to border crossings in hopes of fleeing the country. As the situation calmed down, the focus of the operations was shifted to streamlining the cross-border flow of supplies that are essential for security of supply. Starting in May 2022, the EUAM took a significant role in the EU initiative launched at land borders to promote Ukraine’s export of agricultural products. Tens of millions of tons of grain awaited transportation. The routing of traffic between the different border crossings was rationalised. In addition, two new border crossing locations at the Ukrainian–Romanian border were opened already at the turn of 2023, and two more are coming during 2024.
Russian military’s war crimes have received widespread publicity since March 2022. In April 2022, the EUAM received an additional mandate to support the investigation and prosecution of war crimes. The operation was started immediately. During the spring and autumn, Ukraine was able to repel Russian war troops away from large regions in northern, eastern and southern Ukraine. The infrastructure in these freed areas was often completely destroyed. Often some local residents had cooperated with the Russians, either to preserve their own lives and health, or to safeguard the lives and health of those close to them, or to gain certain benefits. It was feared that this could lead to retaliation by citizens. It was necessary to restore law and order as quickly as possible and to safeguard the basic rights of citizens. In early 2023, the EUAM launched measures to support stability of the freed areas and the neighbouring areas. This activity includes not only supporting the investigation and prosecution of war crimes, but also training police and national guard staff on issues such as societal stability and social cohesion, as well as skills necessary to promote them, such as advanced first aid, handling of mines and unexploded ordnance, and operating at checkpoints. The operation has also provided significant material support to these authorities in these areas.
I have made a career in Finland in the internal security sector and have been a member of the security committee for several years. Nevertheless, the scale of resilience issues in Ukraine, in particular, was surprising. The initial complete stop of the maritime traffic and its subsequent significant limitation and the resultant chaos at border crossings was the first. The second was the extremely high number of war crimes committed by the Russians and the massive resources and expertise needed to investigate them. The third surprising challenge was ensuring that people who had worked or had had to work with the invaders would be treated appropriately.
Finland is a great power in terms of preparedness and a member of a defence union. We have an overall security model in place, and societal preparedness is clearly better than in Ukraine. However, the magnitude of the issues that come up may be surprising. Logistics issues are quite well prepared for, but the same cannot be said of the investigation of war crimes and the handling of persons acting for the benefit of the invader.
The article was originally published in Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat on 24 February 2024.
Baltic Sea Region Forum is organised on Monday 20 May 2024 at the University of Turku with the theme The NATO 2024 and Arctic Europe. The Forum can also be followed online. Programme and more info can be found on the event site.
