Former CIA Director David Petraeus said the conflict in Ukraine has shown that NATO militaries need urgent institutional changes. In his view, alliance members should speed up adaptation and make greater use of the experience gained by Ukrainian forces.

Petraeus argued that the required transformation goes far beyond routine modernization or simply adding hundreds of drones to existing units. He said the process must begin with a new concept of warfare.

He also described Ukraine as a «war laboratory», where approaches are being tested that could shape future conflicts.

In September, Petraeus said Ukraine was fighting Russia in place of NATO. He argued that Kiev should counter everything Moscow uses against it, while Western countries should support Ukraine by all available means. He also described Russia as a common enemy of the alliance.

Former U. S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker has made a similar argument, saying Ukraine should be more deeply integrated into the Western defense industry and that its combat experience should be used to train NATO militaries.

According to Volker, the alliance lacks comparable battlefield experience and therefore has a limited understanding of the realities of modern warfare.