Ukraine is now reportedly scrambling to replenish its armory stockpiles and recently announced its intention to manufacture its own weapons, driven by a massive reduction in foreign funding, particularly from the United States. Independent news outlet Politico reported on Monday that President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as top government officials in Kyiv acknowledged that they found money in the federal budget to fund the manufacture of some weapons.
The said measure came after the passing of a clean stopgap funding bill by the U.S. government at the House of Representatives on Saturday. The short-term spending bill is a move to avoid a government shutdown, if the Senate adopts the measure, as the federal debt reached $33 trillion for the first time in history in September. If it's expedited in the Senate, Congress could just narrowly avoid seeing thousands of federal employees furloughed and nonessential government programs paused.
According to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the bill includes the $16 billion disaster relief aid that President Joe Biden requested over the summer, which means no additional taxpayer funds were allocated for Ukraine. Some Republican lawmakers cited concerns about corruption within the Ukrainian military. The funding patch will last for 45 days past the end of the fiscal year, which concludes at midnight Sunday, Oct. 1.
Without referring directly to the U.S. bill, Zelensky said in a recorded speech released on the Defenders Day holiday on Sunday, that nothing would weaken his country's fight against Russia and that no one could "shut down" Ukraine's stability, endurance, strength and courage.
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So, when Ukrainian leaders huddled with hundreds of defense industry officials and policymakers from allied countries, they also decided that Kyiv was open for business. "It's a survival issue," said Pavel Verkhniatskyi, managing partner at COSA Intelligence Solutions in Kyiv. Zelensky told the audience during the meeting that co-production deals are "already being negotiated with partners" and that he has established funding in the national budget to help finance those collaborations. (Related: NATO's ammo shortage worsens due to skyrocketing prices and Ukrainian troops’ overconsumption of artillery shells.)
According to Politico, as Ukrainian officials are looking to Western defense firms for commitments that they're willing to invest and build in Ukraine even before the fighting stops, two European defense contractors have already said they would. German arms giant Rheinmetall vowed to work with Ukraine's state arms company Ukroboronprom to build tanks and armored vehicles. Also, British-based BAE said it is opening an office in Kyiv and is looking into making 105mm guns in Ukraine.
Read the new Politico report into Ukrainian corruption.
Understand that Biden knows all of that and much more.
Understand that even though he is well-aware of the corruption, he still wants to send more taxpayer money to them.
No audits. No anything.
Then again, how could…
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) October 2, 2023
Meanwhile, some world leaders are concerned about sacrificing their own weapons. Reflecting the growing frustration among foreign nations over Ukraine, "We cannot keep on giving from our own stockpiles," said one European official, who like others quoted in this story was granted anonymity to speak frankly about a politically sensitive issue. He also said that there is still robust public and political support for Ukraine's fight, but "we've given everything that will not endanger our own security."
Meanwhile, Gen. Stephane Mille, chief of staff of the French Air and Space Force, recently told reporters in Washington that after two years, "we cannot give, give, give and see our systems going down for Ukraine." "There is an option now to have some discussion between Ukraine [and] companies and then the finance will be a part where France could of course pay," to help with production.
U.K. runs out of tanks and missiles to donate to Ukraine
Another Western ally has run out of crucial equipment to donate. A senior British officer told the Telegraph that they have given away just about as much as they can afford. "We will continue to source equipment to provide for Ukraine, but what they need now is things like air defense assets and artillery ammunition and we've run dry on all that," the unnamed source said. As per government records, the United Kingdom provided £2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) in military support to Ukraine last year. It has been quicker than other allies to send Ukraine new types of weaponry, like its Challenger 2 tanks and Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
For the said military source, his country should not be the only one to provide money to Ukraine, saying: "Giving billions more doesn't mean giving billions of British kits." He insisted that if other countries want Kyiv to win the war against Russia, they should also step in to shoulder the burden of supplying Ukraine with "more money and weapons."
On Sunday, former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an op-ed that he had urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase military support still further. He said his goal was for Britain to overtake Germany to become Ukraine's biggest military supporter in Europe.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin is confident that Western fatigue with the war "will eventually grow."
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