As the American newspaper The New York Times recently acknowledged, a day’s war in Ukraine costs the United States and its allies a month’s war effort in Afghanistan.
The nine-month war pushed the limits of Western military efforts as Russia and Ukraine used weapons and ammunition in the war at a rate not seen since the Second World War.
NATO countries have already shipped $40 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine, which, according to some sources, is equivalent to the approximate annual defense budget of Taiwan, the island that Beijing claims is part of its national territory and could be its headquarters. a future conflict.
But after supplying more than $40 billion in weapons to Ukraine, some fear that military aid to Ukraine will not be able to continue at the current rate.
So, according to the British newspaper Financial Times, the USA has already sent to Ukraine about a third of the Javelin anti-tank missiles and the same number of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
And, as Pentagon sources admit, it can be difficult to change this material at the speed of conflict.
In response, Britain, along with the United States, which provided the most military aid to Ukraine, had to turn to unidentified third parties to replenish its missile stockpiles.
According to the aforementioned newspaper, many European countries are experiencing similar difficulties because in many cases since the end of the Cold War they have opted for what they call “just in time” in English, that is, according to what conditions require it. .
And the thing is, in the counter-terrorism war, which has been predominantly occupied by the West in recent years, there was no need for heavy weapons required by a high-intensity war like the one in Ukraine.
The aforementioned London newspaper reported that at the current consumption rate of artillery ammunition, British stocks of such material could not last more than a week and that something similar
It happens to allies.
There is an additional problem, and it concerns the guarantees that manufacturers demand when signing arms contracts with governments.
For example, they want to know if Russia will still be a threat to the West in five years or what the same thing, even if it seems cynical, they are interested in the war that lasts as long as possible to reconcile in Ukraine.
Their concern, as they admit, is that they agree to increase production and only if the war ends sooner than originally planned governments will default or cut their contracts.
Many war material factories are already working at full capacity and in 24-hour shifts.
But if Western countries are struggling to supply arms and ammunition, something similar seems to be happening to Russia, which, despite embarking on a kind of war economy, has to turn to Iran and North Korea to continue its efforts. .
The war in Ukraine is a disaster for everyone and yet none seem willing to stop it.