By Alexis PAPACHELAS
Athens' frustration over the recent incident with the Ukraine-built sea drone found in the Ionian Sea is perfectly justified. It is outrageous that a country that has been supported by Greece, and at significant cost, should not respect its sovereignty, and acts irresponsibly and dangerously.
Ukraine's attitude, however, also points to a few other things we should be aware of. Many serious analysts believe that the war with Russia rapidly transformed Ukraine into a "mini-Israel," in many respects. Indeed, Kyiv's secret service is often referred to as "baby Mossad," because it operates in a completely unorthodox manner and often achieves the impossible. Not to mention that Ukraine built a dynamic defense industry from scratch and today is exporting its wares and selling its patents to many other countries. It has also been one of the primary drivers in transforming modern warfare, and militaries across the world are trying to learn from the conflict there. The US Pentagon is even talking about a "paradigm shift" and has come to realize that the way it deals with defense procurements is obsolete.
Did Ukraine do all this alone ? Of course not. It did it with European and American funding. But it has been professional and target-oriented, putting its best minds to work on practical solutions and quick results.
But Ukraine has become a mini-Israel in another respect, too. It has its own code of behavior and often neglects to account for the reactions of its allies or - more importantly - to get anyone's approval. It blows up pipelines, sinks ships in international waters, sends sea drones to the Ionian and generally does whatever it thinks will best serve its national interest, without compunction.
We ought to be worried about all of this. First of all, by how war has changed and how, instead of looking for Turkish frigates, the threat may come from drones lurking in caves somewhere. We talk a lot about defense innovation, but we still have a very long way to go, either because we're waiting for some decision to be signed or because no one is ready to assume political responsibility for making the obvious happen.
I very much hope that it will not take a shock to wake us up to the lessons from Ukraine, because the world, technology and war are changing rapidly while we stay stuck in a mire of petty political gossip.
Original article: www.ekathimerini.com