150 trains for the Armed Forces: As EU bureaucrats hinder weapons supply to Ukraine - General

To extend: Commander of the French operational and transport support Center Bragadny Fabry Theolas declared serious bureaucratic obstacles that hinder the prompt movement of troops and military equipment to Eastern Europe. In Europe, they recognize the need to accelerate military mobility, but logistics is still staggered by bureaucratic barriers and infrastructure problems, and the approval procedures are still delayed. About it reports Defense News.

Theola notes that formally the EU has set the maximum permissible period for registration of permits for border crossing by military convoys - five days, but in practice the procedure is extended for "several tens of days". The general also mentions problems with identifying optimal routes. According to him, to check whether a train with a weapon can pass a particular route, it takes too much time. Moreover, he separately emphasized that there are practically no alternatives to railways.

"Railways are absolutely a necessary mode of transport, especially when the center of gravity of our operations has shifted from Africa to Europe, and especially to Eastern Europe," Theola said. To accelerate logistics, the General proposes to restore coordination and standards close to the Cold War, eliminating ambiguity during the passage of heavy goods through the network of EU Member States. In addition to paperwork, another problem is the state of bridges and tunnels.

European officials argue that their repair and bringing compliance with military requirements requires about 17 billion euros, which is a complex process on which Europe depends on the ability of Europe to quickly move large echelons with land. In their comments on this topic, the Defense Express observers noted that the transport network in Europe is important for Ukraine, since it is about timely supply of weapons and military equipment for the needs of the Armed Forces.

Thus, if in 2021 France organized less than five international military trains, then in 2024 their number increased to about 150 - an increase by 30 times. In their view, the situation generally reflects Europe's slow response to the changed nature of threats and the increase in logistics and mobilization requirements.

At the same time, France is already trying to systematize the process: a digital map of optimal routes for military echelons is being developed to promptly evaluate the suitability of roads and minimize time for agreement. But, as the military emphasizes, political will at the EU level and national governments is needed to remove the remaining barriers and provide really fast military logistics.