Why Europe must fix its defence now - with Moritz Schularick

Why Europe must fix its defence now - with Moritz Schularick

From Explaining Ukraine by UkraineWorld

May 7, 2026 · 44 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the urgent need for Europe to improve its defense capabilities in light of the ongoing situation in Ukraine.

Ukraine has won time for Europe. A vast amount of time. But the price of this time has been tremendous. It is measured not in money, but in human lives. Dozens of towns and hundreds of villages have been destroyed. Occupied territories, occupied people, occupied lives—an occupied future. Europe helps, and it helps a lot. The Ukrainian economy would be in a far more difficult situation without European financial aid. Europe has also provided armaments and political support. Yet, many in Ukraine feel that the time we won for Europe is not being used properly—or is even being wasted. It seems Europe has yet to learn from the Ukrainian experience, our successes, and our mistakes. The continent remains far from becoming a true security union, and its defense industries still behave as if we are living in a time of peace—or as if they are preparing for the wars of the past, not the future. Is this diagnosis correct? And what must Europe do to respond to these challenges more effectively? You’re listening to the Explaining Ukraine podcast. *** Explaining Ukraine is a project by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet run by Internews Ukraine. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a…

People in this episode

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko

Guest: Dr. Moritz Schularick

Topics covered

  • European defense
  • Ukraine
  • security union
  • financial aid
  • human lives
  • defense industries

Keywords

  • defense
  • Europe
  • Ukraine
  • financial aid
  • security
  • human lives
  • Kiel Institute

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kiel Institute for the World Economy, UkraineWorld

Places: Europe, Ukraine

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