They’d never met so far north and it couldn’t have pleased Russian President Vladimir Putin. Defense ministers from 10 NATO member countries that also make up the European defense alliance JEF gathered in Bodø this week, where they forged a new partnership with Ukraine. 

Defense ministers from the 10 NATO countries in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) posed with their new partner Ukraine in the dim November daylight above the Arctic Circle, in the Norwegian city of Bodø. It’s long been a major military base in the NATO alliance and the meeting was hosted by Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O Sandvik (fifth from left), next to Ukraine’s defense minister, Denys Sjmyhal. PHOTO: Torbjørn Kjosvold / Forsvaret

“This is an historic step for my country and all the countries that are members of JEF (Joint Expeditionary Force),” Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Sjmyhal told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) after signing into the new defense partnership with Norway, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Netherlands and Iceland.

Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O Sandvik was just as enthusiastic, stating that the agreement will “strengthen our cooperation, formalize the framework for a stronger partnership and secure that we can act quickly and effectively together with our allies, including Ukraine.”

Sandvik noted that Ukraine “is carrying out modern warfare against Russia, which is the aggressor we’re preparing ourselves for.” While Norway and other NATO members have long been sending military aid to Ukraine, Sandvik stressed that “we’re learning from what Ukraine is doing” with it. “We can also teach Ukraine how to survive better on the battlefield. We’re doing that along with Poland, where we’re now training 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers.”

Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Sjmyhal, shown here seated between defense ministers from the UK and Sweden, and across the table from Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O Sandvik. He thanked Norway for its support for Ukraine and for hosting the meeting in Bodø. PHOTO: Torbjørn Kjosvold / Forsvaret

Sandvik also said the JEF partnership with Ukraine is aimed at preparing Ukraine to be a NATO member, even though that won’t be happening in the near future. The Joint Expeditionary Force with which Ukraine is now a partner is a North European defense alliance established in 2014 and operational since 2018. Five of its members share a border with Russia, and they train to ward off any Russian aggression.

Russia is widely believed to already be preparing to test NATO allies along its border. A new book by German Professor Carlo Masala of Bundeswehr University in Munich raises a scenario in which Russia moves into the Estonian border town of Narva, where a Russian minority lives. That, in Russia’s mind, would give it an excuse to “protect its countrymen abroad,” according to Masala.

He told Oslo newspaper Dagsavisen on Thursday that “I see it as very realistic that Russia at some point will test NATO.” Not necessarily with a full-scale invasion, since that would trigger NATO’s Article 5, which states that an attack on any single NATO member is viewed as an attack on all NATO members. But moving into a border town like Narva, or onto the Estonian island of Hiiuma, would allow Russia to quickly withdraw if and when NATO quickly reacts. He calls it a “stress test” of NATO and he chose Estonia as an example since it recently changed a law to forbid Russian citizens and other non-EU citizens from voting in local elections. Russia may thus try to “protect” them.

British Royal Navy forces have been training in Northern Norway this autumn as part of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). Ukraine became a JEF partner this week. PHOTO: UK MOD/Forsvaret

JEF’s new partnership with Ukraine, meanwhile, will bring them closer to NATO itself and its goal of ultimately joining NATO. That can upset Russia, with Per Erik Solli of the Norwegian peace research institute PRIO predicting a reaction. “I think they’ll react strongly against this,” Solli told NRK. “This may seem like a small step, but it can be viewed extremely negatively in Russia.”

British Defense Minister John Healey told NRK on Wednesday that welcoming Ukraine into the JEF “sends a very strong signal to Russian President Putin that JEF is stronger than ever before.” Healey thinks the new partnership with Ukraine will make it possible for the JEF countries to scale up further support for Ukraine, while also strengthening NATO’s and JEF’s presence in their own areas bordering Russia.

Great Britain currently leads JEF, which has a goal of strengthening all its members’ security and to contribute to NATO’s forces in Northern Europe.

NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund