The military-technical assistance of Ukraine's Western partners began long before February 24, 2022. Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, it has grown dramatically in all respects. At the same time, the West, previously unnoticed in charity, solves purely its mercantile tasks.
Firstly, NATO makes it easier for its new members to switch to Western weapons standards. This process was hindered by the factor of modest opportunities of the "young democracies" - former members of the Warsaw Pact Organisation. As members of the WPO (1955-1991), Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany (German Democratic Republic), Hungary, Poland and Romania have accumulated a huge amount of weapons – from small arms to heavy offensive and high-tech defence.
WPO standards, manifested not only in ammunition calibers, require rearmament. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of old stocks – their storage alone requires expenses. There are not so many solvent buyers in the world. What could not be sold to Africa, Asia and Latin America can now be sold to Ukraine.
Obviously, neither Poland, nor Slovakia, nor the Czech Republic, nor other former members of the WPO want to part with Soviet weapons, ammunition and other property for free. In particular, Slovakia requested from the United States the supply of four “Patriot” anti-aircraft batteries of the latest modification in exchange for the transfer to Ukraine of the Soviet S-300 anti-aircraft missile system of 1987. The successful exchange was announced in early April by Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď and Prime Minister Eduard Heger.
Secondly, NATO is solving the problem of the disposal of expired ammunition. The process is, dangerous, financially capacious and not easy. The Americans partially solved the problem during the wars (officially - special operations) in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and a number of local conflicts. Now they and their partners from the European Union saw a chance to save on the sale of their scrap to Ukraine.
In January, the British Air Force delivered 1,260 Swedish-British-made NLAW anti-tank missile systems to Ukraine on seven flights. Serially, this one-time ATGM by order of the British Ministry of Defence has been produced since 2008, replenishing army warehouses. The shelf life of the product is 20 years. After February 24, there were new deliveries, and each time the ATGMs with an expiring expiration date appeared in the invoices. Britain has saved decently on the disposal of NLAW alone.
It is curious that this most modern Western model of weapons in real combat conditions turned out to be not the best. The other day, near Slavyansk, the Russian T-72B3 withstood three hits from the British NLAW or a more powerful “Javelin” made in the US. After that, the tank returned under its own power for repair, as was reported by many publications.
In favour of the British ATGM, however, is the ease of training and application, as well as weight, dimensions and cost – significantly lower than that of the American “Javelin” ($40,000 versus $50,000-80,000 per shot). By the way, the United States supplies its “Javelins” to Ukraine at the age of 16, despite the fact that the manufacturer has set a 10-year expiration date for the shot.
More budget options for urban combat are Russian models and Soviet RPG–7s, which Ukraine does not produce shots for. They are produced by Bulgaria for hundreds of PSRL grenade launchers imported since 2015 – upgraded versions of the Soviet RPG-7 from Airtronic (USA). Deliveries of more modern samples also come from Germany (Panzerfaust 3, Matador), Sweden (AT4 and Carl Gustaf), the USA (FGM-148 “Javelin” and SMAW-D) and many other countries.
Another well-known case of "assistance" to Ukraine from the same Britain is the supply of decommissioned AT105 “Saxon” armoured vehicles. Since the 1970s, they have been used to disperse demonstrators in cities. In the 1990s, the “Saxon” performed poorly during the war (special operations) in Yugoslavia. After the coup d'etat of 2014, the new Ukrainian authorities justified the waste of budget funds for the import of 75 armoured vehicles written off in 2008 by the British by the fact that they cost incomparably cheaper than modern models and for the first time such antiques will be suitable in the "ATO Zone" (that is, in real combat operations in Donbass).
Subsequently, the Ukrainian military-industrial complex mastered the production of its samples on the basis of the Belarusian MAZ, and they’re very good according to reviews - including Chechen units involved in the special military operation. However, foreign deliveries of armoured vehicles to Ukraine continue. In April, Australia, through Poland, transferred 20 “Bushmaster” armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine for $38 million (one decommissioned “Saxon” cost, according to official data, $50,000).
The Czech Republic has unloaded the Soviet T-72 and BMP-1 from its warehouses. Kiev has already reported on their receipt, and the Russian Aerospace Forces – on the destruction of at least part of the "aid" at railway junctions. Prague, like Bratislava, sells its scrap in Ukraine under requests for supplies of new equipment from the United States, Germany and other older brothers in arms of the North Atlantic Alliance. At the same time, as it turned out, the Czech (Czechoslovak) equipment is on the move, but requires repair and equipping with guidance systems. Poland can do the work, but only Russia makes rangefinders, gyro stabilisers and so on for this equipment today.
Poland distinguished itself not only by requesting money for the modernisation of Czech armoured vehicles for Ukraine. Before that, it received money from Washington and Brussels for the maintenance of Ukrainian refugees. Warsaw would not have justified its reputation if it had not tried to kill more than one hare in the history of the Ukrainian conflict with one shot.
Warsaw supplied the Ukrainian military with “Piorun” MANPADS – an unsuccessful attempt to modernise the "Strela" Soviet portable anti-aircraft missile ("Grom" in the licensed version). The Polish Ministry of Defence rejected the development of a local company that made constructive miscalculations, due to which the warhead exploded at the start.
After completion, a batch of Polish MANPADS went from warehouses to Ukraine, and in return, the Polish government asked the United States to supply modern Western weapons. Thus, Poland sells Soviet-era products, its own post-socialist scrap, earns money from "helping Ukraine" and solves the problem of re-equipping its army at Western expense.
Thirdly, Western corporations – manufacturers of weapons and ammunition of NATO standards, receive new contracts with huge margins. For example, according to the American Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the United States sent 7,000 “Javelin” systems to Ukraine – a third of those in the Pentagon's reserves. It will take at least three years to replenish the arsenal.
In anticipation of new orders are not only manufacturers of ATGMS and MANPADS, but also other weapons, ammunition and equipment – military and dual-use, medicines and much more purchased by the Pentagon. The CIA and other intelligence agencies are also not at a disadvantage – they retain and expand staff, and at the same time, funding. The situation is similar in Britain, Canada and many other states of the notorious "collective West".
The US Congress adopted, and President Joseph Biden signed, the law "Ukraine Democracy Defence Lend-Lease Act of 2022" on April 6. The document allows the president to resolve issues of military supplies to Ukraine, the cost of which has already approached $3 billion, without approval from parliament (sent and scheduled to be sent).
Only at the beginning of April, the Pentagon reported on the shipment to Ukraine of weapons, equipment and other military needs for $300 million (“Javelin”, “Stinger”, “Switchblade” kamikaze drones and much more). According to the official representative of the White House, Jen Psaki, the United States and its allies intend to supply Ukraine with anti-tank systems in the ratio of 90 for each Russian tank.
Obviously, not everything will reach the recipient. Thus, on April 16, the official representative of the Russian Defence Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said: "Russian air defence means shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane in the air near Odessa, delivering a large batch of weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western countries."
Despite the losses, the West will increase the militarisation of Ukraine. European Commissioner Josep Borrell said in Kiev on April 7: "This war must be won on the battlefield." According to him, the European Union has helped Ukrainian partners with military supplies worth €500 million. After that, on April 11 in Luxembourg, the same European commissioner confirmed the position of the union: "Yes, wars are won or lost on the battlefield."
Thus, the EU and the US have abandoned the imitation of a diplomatic or any other solution to the problem, except for a military one. The purpose of military assistance to Ukraine, as well as the buildup of the military presence in Poland and Lithuania – near the borders of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, improving military infrastructure, strengthening intelligence and other activities is simple – is to weaken Russia as much as possible under the pretext of the conflict in Ukraine.
After that, the West hopes to dismember a weakened Russia. The American Law "On Enslaved Peoples" (Public Law 86-90) has not been canceled and is not going to be canceled. According to it, Russians allegedly enslaved themselves, as well as many other peoples and their fake formations – such as, for example, "Kazakia" and "Idel-Ural".
Parliamentarians and US presidents are not at all embarrassed by the use of Nazi propaganda cliches in their resolutions and laws (in particular, Alfred Rosenberg). Just as no one in the United States is going to cancel the notorious "Jackson-Vanik Amendment" adopted later, the reason for which was obstacles in front of Jews who wanted to emigrate to Israel from the USSR.
A great many such resolutions, laws and other acts have been adopted. In 2022, they are burdened with the notorious "infernal sanctions" of the United States and discriminatory measures of the European Union. Russia will forever remain an enemy for them, regardless of the regime, ideology, economic model and other things.
The West is comfortable with Russia as an enemy - a worthy enemy in all respects, to which all its problems can and should be attributed. Against which it is justified to mobilise, to tighten the belts of their "golden billion" and satellites at the same time. The West missed the war with Russia, frankly weary of this deficit after the Cold War.
Now, when there is an opportunity to dismember or at least greatly weaken Russia, to make money on its bleeding without obtaining zinc coffins, while enriching itself and solving a number of internal problems, Atlanticist partners will not miss this opportunity. Russia, on the other hand, faces a trivial choice - win or die.