The wrenching images and stories from Ukraine should spur NATO—a trans-Atlantic, defensive, military and political alliance—to think harder about how it would protect its citizens and critical infrastructure during a high-intensity, state-on-state conflict. Alliance leaders would be wise to press this point during the upcoming summit in Madrid, where the organization is slated to adopt a new strategic concept and agree on a definition of human security.

Civilians have always suffered in wartime, and even before Russia invaded Ukraine, it had become clear that a new war on European soil would be no different. Tabletop exercises we participated in over the years—including one last fall that our organization helped to design—point to the fact that defeating the adversary will remain a critical task. However, protecting alliance civilians and civilian infrastructure is likely to be equally important—and perhaps more challenging.

Ukraine’s tragic experience only underlines this. Its people are being killed by the Russian shelling of residential neighborhoods, forcibly displaced to Russia, and subjected to more atrocities. But they also die from lack of access to basic needs such as food, water, shelter, healthcare, and electricity. In a future conflict, countering these deadly threats will require a keen understanding of the human environment and the protection of civilians.

Read the full op-ed in Defense One.