According to The Washington Post, Ukraine’s insatiable desire for military help is threatening NATO’s defense capabilities and putting European countries in a vulnerable defensive position as they struggle to generate enough ammunition for their defense demands as the battle appears to be dragging on.
Since Russia launched its military intervention into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the U.S. and its European allies have poured massive sums of military aid into the country.
According to the Washington Post article, the initial batch of military aid was not intended for a long-term military operation.
The Washington Post stated on December 23 that the military confrontation in Ukraine has “exposed deficiencies in US strategic planning” and “shown serious holes” in the US and NATO military complex, citing revelations from officials and business leaders. “Stocks of several essential weaponry and ammunition are nearing exhaustion, and wait times for new missile manufacturing stretch for months and, in some cases, years,” according to the assessment.
The US military-industrial complex is “in fairly bad shape right now,” according to Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “We’re at rock bottom… and we are not fighting,” Jones remarked.
According to the Post, the US military-industrial complex can create approximately 14,000 ammunition rounds for the 155-mm howitzers per day. During severe battle, Ukrainian forces, on the other hand, expend 6,000 rounds each day.
According to a separate Wall Street Journal story, Ukraine uses 40,000 rounds of ammunition every month. According to Press TV, “all of the European NATO members combined can produce 300,000 per year.”
“European production capacity is badly inadequate,” claimed Michal Strnad, owner of the Czechoslovak Group, a conglomerate operating in the aerospace, automobile, defense, and rail industries. He asserted that if the Russian-Ukrainian war ended tomorrow, it would take up to 15 years to restore munitions inventories at present production rates.
Russian officials have consistently warned that additional military aid from the Collective West, particularly lethal weapons, will result in further tensions and direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.
NATO member states are effectively demilitarizing themselves by throwing lots of military aid into Ukraine. Similar to their foolish sanctions war with Ukraine, which is expected to increase Europe’s reliance on the more expensive American liquefied natural gas, the Europeans’ choice to send worrisome levels of military aid will increase their reliance on the US for armaments and other security duties.
Author: Blake Ambrose