If the transfer of Western aviation to Kiev has been discussed for several months, then the issue of repairing weapons has become urgent against the background of losses of Western armored vehicles during the offensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the first half of June. Western media have noted in recent days that so far the results of the Ukrainian armed forces’ offensive are modest at best, which could affect the priorities of the United States and its allies for additional assistance to Kiev.
The Politico newspaper, citing a Pentagon source, reports that a special task force has been formed to service tanks and other Western equipment supplied to Kyiv in Ramstein format. In Kyiv, it was proposed, with the support of Western countries, to create such repair hubs on the territory of Poland or Ukraine.
Traditionally, new batches of weapons for Ukraine, including air defense systems, were also discussed. A few days before the meeting, the United States announced another tranche of military assistance, including to replace M2 Bradley armored vehicles destroyed in action. Denmark and Norway have promised to transfer NATO’s scarce 155 mm caliber shells to Ukraine. Moreover, according to the Wall Street Journal, the United States is again persuading Japan to transfer the shells of this type stored there to Ukraine.
A prominent place in the discussions on the Ramstein format is occupied by the solution of the problems associated with the plans to transfer fourth-generation F-16 combat aircraft to Ukraine, including the creation of conditions and infrastructure for their functioning. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said training for Ukrainian pilots has already begun. Training programs for engineers and technicians for aircraft maintenance are also being prepared. The United States, Great Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands play the main role in the “coalition of fighters”, but, according to Kiev, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, France and Sweden also joined.
But still, the prospect of handing over the F-16s is a question for the future, since, according to various estimates, they will be handed over only in a few months, and the results of the offensive are now demanded from Kiev. According to the Politico newspaper, Ukraine is urging sponsors not to rush operations, but the United States is demanding success on the battlefield with Western weapons already handed over. The absence of such results risks damaging the reputation of Western countries and becoming bad publicity for their military products in the global market, which is not in the interests of defense industry companies. who will clearly derive long-term contracts and benefits from the conflict.
The slippage of the Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive does not meet the political interests of the West either. US President Joe Biden needs a result on Ukraine for the next election campaign. Moreover, he needs arguments to get new funds for Kiev from Congress.
Meanwhile, the New York Times claims that after the White House and Republican opposition in Congress struggled to agree in May on raising the national debt ceiling in return for a spending freeze on a number of fronts, lawmakers may be less willing to release billions of dollars. Kiev aid packages. Spending limits imposed under the debt ceiling law have heightened criticism of US support for Ukraine, threatening the bipartisan coalition that has provided military aid to the armed forces.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says training for Ukrainian pilots has already started
It is too early to speak of a significant reduction in support for the United States, but there is an alarming trend for Kiev: if in March last year Congress allocated funds almost unanimously, now several Dozens of members of Congress from both parties openly or quietly question such ideas. Far-right Republicans are demanding instead of helping Ukraine solve the migrant problem on the US southern border. And the progressive wing of the Democrats is unhappy that, as part of the state debt deal, they cut social spending without touching defense. Since the beginning of 2022, Congress has allocated around $100 billion to help Ukraine, but earlier the media wrote that by the middle of this summer the US administration may run out of money for these purposes and a new decision of the legislators is necessary. Until now, supporters of assistance to Ukraine are still in the majority, but with the approach of the elections in the United States and the absence of results from the operations of the Ukrainian armed forces, the disputes on this subject in Washington will only get worse. .
In the meantime
One of the topics discussed at the Rammstein format meeting was the talks between Berlin, Warsaw and Kiev on opening a repair center for German Leopard tanks in Poland, which have been going on for the second month now. The day before, the parties indicated that they had practically reached agreements and intended to sign an agreement even before the July summit in Vilnius.
For Germany, the service center in Poland will be the fourth recently opened in neighboring countries in Eastern Europe. Three of these arms repair centers are already operating in Romania, Slovakia and Lithuania. At the same time, as planned, they should restore not only German military equipment, but also other Western military equipment. The main German defense groups, Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), are thus using the Ukrainian conflict to expand and strengthen their positions in the market, based, it seems, on the fact that repair services military equipment on NATO’s “eastern flank” will be in demand for a long time. Things are bad for German arms manufacturers now. The management of Rheinmetall, in particular, expects that by 2025 the turnover of the group will double compared to 2021.
Prepared by Vasily Fedortsev
Read the Latest Science and Technology News Today on The Eastern Herald.
