A story from a news | The Ukrainian war and the boom in the arms market in the West
According to IRNA on Sunday, the world, and especially the Middle East region, has never been safe from war and unrest. The unrest that has devastated cities along with the boom in the business of arms manufacturers and dealers. This time, another war has heated up the arms market, with the official announcement of countries and governments to send weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
Although the United States and Europe seem to be pursuing the goal of supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia by sending all kinds of weapons and armaments to Ukraine, the huge dollars resulting from the transfer of this volume of weapons cannot be ignored; Dollars that in the unfavorable economic conditions of the world, can have significant economic benefits for the countries that produce and export these goods.
News background
With the announcement of the launch of a “special military operation” against Ukraine on Putin’s orders last Thursday (March 26th), tense Moscow-Kiev relations turned into a military confrontation. The fire of war broke out in a corner of the world, this time not as in previous years in the Middle East but in Europe.
Ukrainian forces are facing Russian forces with old Soviet-era weapons, as well as weapons and military equipment purchased in 2014 and 2021 from the United States, Poland, the Czech Republic and Britain.
The first reaction of the pro-Ukrainian governments was to support the government by sending weapons and military equipment. The European Union (EU) has approved a € 450 million arms deal with Ukraine in what the media called “historic”. Sweden and Denmark also announced that they were sending thousands of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.
In the midst of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Germany eventually abandoned its policy of opposing arms shipments. In addition to Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium and the Czech Republic also announced the sending of military equipment to Ukraine. Outside of Europe, the Australian government has also announced that it will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO.
Following Germany’s opposition to sending weapons, the Dutch government announced that it would supply the Ukrainians with 400 German-made anti-tank missile launchers in addition to a number of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
In the latest developments, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kolba also met with his US counterpart Anthony Blinken at the Ukrainian-Polish border crossing yesterday (Saturday) to discuss future steps to supply Ukraine with the necessary weapons and impose additional sanctions on Russia. they said.
A White House spokesman said yesterday that the United States was working with Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine and that the United States would fill the vacancies in the Warsaw Air Force.
According to CNN, the White House official said that as part of the talks with Warsaw, the United States is examining the capabilities that could be used by Poland if it decides to provide fighter jets to Ukraine. Warsaw air fill.
The importance of the subject
Gen. William Sherman, a former U.S. soldier in the American Civil War of 1879, spoke historically of these conflicts: The War is Hell. War is good for business, and weapons and military equipment are one of the most lucrative products for large arms companies.
This policy of the nineteenth century did not change a century later. In his farewell speech in 1961, former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke of a new element in domestic and foreign policy called “industrial-military complexes.”
Today in the 21st century, when many did not believe that a direct military confrontation would take place between the two bordering countries, traces of this old policy can still be found. Extensive military aid to Ukraine, like any other military confrontation, has directly and indirectly heated up the arms market.
Assessment
Militant policies, escalating tensions or creating crises in some areas have for years pushed Middle Eastern nations into competition for arms spending and, consequently, arms stockpiles. Today, it seems that Ukraine is on the agenda of the arms market as a short-term goal and Europe as a long-term goal.
The first signs of this can be seen in the change in Germany’s defense and military policies. The government announced a significant increase in its military budget in the coming years and the immediate allocation of a € 100 billion package to modernize the army and armaments.
The decision follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Germany, which has been reducing its military presence since the end of the Cold War. Today, it is not far-fetched that other European countries should increase military budgets to increase their weapons readiness to their political agendas.