Russia’s military moves in Ukraine “shatter the myth” that the end of the Cold War meant an end to insecurity, at least in Europe, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday.

In remarks prepared for delivery at a Washington think-tank, Hagel renewed a call for increased defense spending by NATO members and said even a united Europe still faces great dangers.

“While we must continue to build a more peaceful and prosperous global order, there is no postmodern refuge immune to the threat of military force,” Hagel said, according to excerpts provided in advance of his speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “And we cannot take for granted — even in Europe — that peace is underwritten by the credible deterrent of military power.”

Earlier Friday in Ukraine, two Ukrainian helicopters were shot down as Ukraine launched its first major offensive against the pro-Russia forces that have seized government buildings in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin said Kiev’s move against the insurgents “destroyed” hopes for peace in the region.

Hagel said NATO members need to boost their defense investment because over the long run Russia will test the purpose, stamina and commitment of the 28-nation U.S.-led alliance.

“In recent years, one of the biggest obstacles to alliance investment has been a sense that the end of the Cold War ushered in an ‘end of history’ and an end to insecurity — at least in Europe — from aggression by nation-states. Russia’s actions in Ukraine shatter that myth and usher in “bracing new realities,” Hagel said in his prepared remarks.

He called for the inclusion of budget officials at a future NATO defense ministers meeting focused on ways to break the pattern of steadily declining defense budgets among European member states.

On Thursday, NATO’s second-ranking official said the alliance is now compelled to treat Moscow as an adversary.

“Clearly the Russians have declared NATO as an adversary, so we have to begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary than a partner,” said Alexander Vershbow, the deputy secretary-general of NATO.

In a question-and-answer session with reporters, Vershbow said Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its apparent manipulation of unrest in eastern Ukraine have fundamentally changed the NATO-Russia relationship.

“In central Europe, clearly we have two different visions of what European security should be like,” Vershbow, a former U.S. diplomat and onetime Pentagon official, said. “We still would defend the sovereignty and freedom of choice of Russia’s neighbors, and Russia clearly is trying to re-impose hegemony and limit their sovereignty under the guise of a defense of the Russian world.”

(AP)