According to security expert Christian Mölling, medical soldiers from NATO states such as Estonia could be deployed in Ukraine to support the fight against Russian troops. Mölling said on Friday in the stern podcast “The Situation – Internationally” that the Ukrainians would have to fight alone – but soldiers from other countries could also do everything else. “I think that is a sensible consideration in principle,” said the research director of the German Society for foreign policy on plans to send medical units, for example. In addition to Estland, other states that feel particularly threatened by Russia would also make such considerations – despite the risk to their own soldiers.
“It is of course possible that Estonian soldiers may come under fire, for example from long-range missiles,” emphasized the expert. “The fact that Estonian NATO soldiers die is part of the risk.” However, this would not immediately trigger the alliance , which obliges the other members of the alliance to assist. Supporting an attacked state by medics is permissible under international law.
Despite such considerations, Mölling does not see NATO on a path that will gradually turn it into a warring party. “I don’t see any salami tactics,” he emphasized. However, Mölling criticized the fact that in the past Ukraine had always received too late and then too little support. In his opinion, this limits the options for action. “This could mean that in six months or a year we will be faced with the question: How involved are we?” he said. He mentioned Western aircraft shooting down Russian missiles or drones as a possible option for greater involvement. Defending against unmanned missiles is explicitly not about killing Russian soldiers.
According to Mölling, the Russian advance in the Kharkiv region would have been made significantly more difficult if Ukraine had already been able to use American missiles against the attackers’ collection areas on Russian territory. But the USA rejects this. The British have now lifted such restrictions for the systems they supply. “There are indications that the Americans are also leaning in this direction,” said Mölling.