Former EDF Chief: Western European Officers Were Like Cartoon Characters Before Ukraine War
Former Estonian Defence Forces Commander Martin Herem criticized Western European officers for behaving like diplomats and lacking a fighting spirit, a situation changed by the Ukraine war. He also argued that the essence of warfare has not changed despite new technologies.
In an interview with Estonian broadcaster ERR, Martin Herem, who previously led the Estonian Defence Forces, compared Western European army officers to characters from the Soviet animated film "How Mushrooms Fought with Peas." According to him, the long period of peace in Western Europe created a perception that even junior officers act more like diplomats than soldiers. "I would venture to say an entire generation of officers grew up in Western countries who no longer loved fighting," Herem said.
The war in Ukraine has been a wake-up call, reminding that military personnel will always need core skills such as digging trenches. Russians place little value on the apparent diplomacy some Western officers exhibit, the general added.
Despite the advent of drone technology, Herem said little has changed in tactics on the field since the early period of Estonian independence. "What the Ukrainians are doing today – downing drones with small arms – is essentially the same thing we were taught in the 1990s versus helicopters," he said. In his view, changes have introduced different technical solutions but have not altered the nature of warfare, including its logistical issues. "There weren't sufficient artillery shells, so they came up with drones carrying explosives. There wasn't sufficient intel – so they started using drones in reconnaissance," Herem explained.
He also cast skepticism on the cheapness of drones, noting that even if an individual unit costs a few hundred euros, many people are behind every drone and many drones are needed.
Regarding Russian strikes on civilian targets, Herem rejected the claim that Russia indiscriminately bombs civilians, saying Russia lacks resources for such large-scale attacks. More often, drones and missiles stray off military targets and hit residential buildings. However, he acknowledged that Russia deliberately targets civilian infrastructure to break the psychological backbone of society.
On Estonia's defense spending, Herem criticized perfectionism that hinders effective use of funds. "Countries often ask for something they've seen on television or imagined – a gadget that makes sandwiches by morning, plays stereo radio, stands in front of the fridge but can repel tanks too," he said. The key quality in military equipment should be its availability.
Security expert Meelis Oidsalu, who also appeared on the show, noted the Ukraine war has been a wake-up call for NATO, with collective defense taken seriously for the first time since the Cold War. However, Europe's defense industry remains too fragmented. "Why do we need eight different self-propelled artillery models when perhaps three could be competing?" he questioned.
