In the fight against Russia, Ukraine is increasingly being supported by the West with weapons and ammunition.
The result: Europe in particular must upgrade – and quickly.
Washington DC/Moscow – While the West is supporting Ukraine with arms deliveries and Leopard tanks, the domestic armory is increasingly empty.
The USA recently had to resort to depots of the US armed forces in Israel and South Korea.
For Washington, this requires logistical skill and diplomacy: because even if the stored ammunition is US property, it is actually held for possible conflicts in the Middle East and Asia.
At the same time, Germany is in trouble due to the growing taxes.
"The fact that the weapons and ammunition stocks are empty is definitely a problem," said Marcel Berni, strategy expert at the Military Academy at ETH Zurich.
Because the Russian army in particular is said to have used up extremely large amounts of reserves during the first months of the war, the problem exists "for both sides".
Most recently, Moscow had to switch to supplies from North Korea and Iran.
"Now there's a race going on in the background about who can reproduce faster," said Berni in an interview with
blick.ch
.
But in contrast to Europe, which for years considered a war on its own continent to be virtually impossible, Moscow has long since reoriented itself.
While the Kremlin prioritized rearmament after initial sanctions as a result of the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the European armaments industry – including the German one – concentrated on global exports.
The irony: Russia now benefited from the numerous exports.
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A mural called "Saint Javelina" in Kyiv depicting the Virgin Mary holding a US-made FGM-148 Javelin.
(archive photo)
© Oleksii Chumachenko/Imago
Russia benefited from western arms exports – also thanks to Turkey
According to a report by the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI) published in August 2022, large quantities of western electronic components were imported into Russia even before the war began.
A large part of the goods had previously been delivered to Turkey and handled there - many Russian businessmen are said to have set up companies in Turkey especially for this purpose.
"Without Western technology, the Russian army could not wage the war against Ukraine as it has been doing for months," RISU expert James Byrne told
RND
.
According to Byrne, anyone who thinks that German corporations didn't know anything about this is wrong: in recent months, several German companies have used Turkey as a hub for exports to Russia.
In particular, "crucial parts of many missiles come from the West," said the expert.
From the East - especially from North Korea and China - there are said to be further components or even weapons for Putin's bloody war.
The Kremlin has not yet officially declared martial law, putting the economy finally in war mode.
Experts assume that this would not change anything anyway.
According to an MDR
report, Russian armaments factories have been working “around the clock” for months
.
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness
Exports instead of own rearmament: West had “hardly any intentions to build up large reserves”
Almost a year after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, however, the West seems to be picking up the pace and declaring war on Vladimir Putin with the promise of tanks.
“In 2022, the goal was to deliver enough material so that Ukraine would not lose the war.
In 2023, the goal is to provide enough material for Ukraine to win," said Marcel Berni.
However, the necessary material cannot be conjured out of a hat, since "there were hardly any intentions in the West to build up large reserves of ammunition and armaments".
"It reflects the fact that in the past 20 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US and the Europeans have primarily focused on non-conventional conflicts, such as fighting terrorists or insurgents in Iraq or Afghanistan," said Max Bergmann from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to
tagesschau.de
.
According to Bergmann, Europe needs to increase production and focus on its own needs.
The question arises as to what would happen if other European countries were drawn into the Ukraine war – or into another, future one.
Therefore, a reorientation is needed, explained Bergmann: “Frankly, this requires investments.
To do this, Germany, the European Union and other European countries not only have to increase their defense spending, but also focus on the right things.” (nak)
Rubric list image: © Oleksii Chumachenko/Imago
