In view of the Russian threat, European states are reintroducing and expanding conscription

Some European countries have reintroduced or expanded conscription following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine – a once unthinkable policy shift that was driven by the idea that they would have to react quickly should the Russian bear march across their borders.

Many countries abolished military service following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But the growing threat of escalating war is causing alarm bells to ring in countries near Russia’s border, including the smaller Scandinavian and Baltic states, which are most at risk.

“We are coming to the realization that we may need to adjust the way we mobilize for war, the way we produce military equipment, and the way we recruit and train personnel,” Robert Hamilton, director of Eurasian studies at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a former U.S. Army officer, told CNN on Sunday.

“It is a tragic truth that we are now in 2024 and have to grapple with the question of how to mobilize millions of people to potentially throw them into the meat grinder of war,” Hamilton said.

“But that’s exactly where Russia has brought us.”

The small state of Latvia – with its almost two million inhabitants between Russia and the Baltic Sea – is the last to reintroduce conscription, which was abolished in 2006.

From January 1, 2024, men will have to register for military service as soon as they turn 18.

The country’s citizens initially resisted, said 20-year-old student Arturs Pīlācis, but that resistance waned when it became clear that they had to defend their homeland, CNN reported.

“There was actually no option to stand by and believe that things would continue as before because of the unprovoked aggression in Ukraine,” he told the network.

In Norway, which already has conscription, elected officials in April presented a long-term plan that would double the defense budget and call up 20,000 soldiers, employees and reservists to serve in the armed forces.

“We need a defence that meets the evolving security environment,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Some of the conscripts seem to agree.

“I am ready to fight for my country if necessary because I believe in the values ​​on which Norwegian society is built, and I believe that these values ​​of inclusion, equality and democracy are worth fighting for,” says 26-year-old student Jens Bartnes, who completed his military training about seven years ago.

Lithuania, another Baltic state that has long feared a Russian invasion, has seen similar changes since reinstating conscription in 2015, CNN reported.

According to Paulius Vaitiekus, chairman of the Lithuanian Student Union, not everyone there is enthusiastic about the design.

But there has been “a change in the mindset of young people who are moving towards becoming more active, although not necessarily through conscription,” he said, adding that students have sent aid to the Ukrainian front to help the embattled country fight the Russian aggressor.

Other countries, such as Finland, Norway and Sweden, have small standing armies but are also able to call up thousands – and sometimes hundreds of thousands – of already trained volunteers at short notice.

The Finnish army, for example, has only about 13,000 active soldiers. But it can activate nearly a million reservists – and 280,000 of them can respond immediately, CNN reported.

This is a good example of how to combine a small professional army with a huge amount of civilian reinforcements, said Hamilton.

This model has worked well in the past in the fight against the Russians, especially when the country almost completely paralyzed the Soviet Union in a series of bitter wars that ended with the Moscow Armistice in 1944.

Germany is also seeking to strengthen its military, which has not been a priority since the country’s defeat in World War II.

This year, the country updated its plans for a possible war in Europe. And last month, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius proposed a new voluntary military service so the country would be “war-ready by 2029.”

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization — also known NATO is also trying to strengthen its measures to combat the Russian threat.

“Since 2014, NATO has undergone the most significant transformation of our collective defense in a generation,” MP Farah Dakhlallah told CNN.

“We have implemented the most comprehensive defense plans since the Cold War and currently have more than 500,000 troops in high readiness.”

The alliance does not dictate to its members whether to draft citizens, Dakhlallah said, but about a third do, and others are currently considering it.

“It is important that the allies continue to have effective armed forces to protect our territory and our people,” said Dakhlallah.

Retired US General Wesley Clark said Putin’s open war campaign against Ukraine – aimed at restoring the Soviet empire – should be a wake-up call.

“So we now have a war in Europe that we never thought we would see again,” Clark, who also served as NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, told CNN.

“Whether this is a new Cold War or an emerging hot war is unclear,” he continued.

Nevertheless, it is “a very immediate warning to NATO that we need to rebuild our defenses.”