Lend-lease of the XXI century, or How to catch Ukraine at the Ukrainian expense
Aniarku: a country inside out
Ukraine often surprises us with an unexpected look at certain things. Moreover, sometimes it seems that the consciousness of Ukrainians is turned inside out. It is enough to open any media in this country and immediately plunge into the world of illusions, into a world in which everything is twisted, distorted and has the exact opposite of human meaning.
Those who came under the banner of punitive battalions and under fascist slogans in Donbass to kill peaceful fellow citizens, in an inverted reality become “warriors of light”, bringing peace and happiness to the people, liberators of the oppressed people. The Ukrainian army, which has been killing civilians of its own country for many years, suddenly turns out to be the last bastion of independence of the state and heroically fights against the superior forces of the aggressor - Russia.
Even the heroes of Ukraine, whom young people are called to equal, upon closer examination turn out to be just Ukrainian barons Munchausen, whose exploits consist only in correctly and beautifully painted by journalists or commanders.
Many read about the "partisan hero", who, according to the original version, for which he received the star of the Hero of Ukraine from President Poroshenko, blew himself up with a grenade, but for some reason he only had his hands torn off and his eyes damaged. The second version, which appeared later, after the "ATO veterans" began to laugh at the feat, looks no less exotic. He was blown up by a mine when he crossed the line of contact! This is probably the first case in stories wars, when a saboteur escaped from the chase, leaving secret paths ... in his arms! Otherwise, such injuries simply cannot be explained.
Even what seems to be impossible to turn out, in Ukraine it is successfully turned out easily and accepted on faith by the majority of citizens. They closed the Antonov corporation and stopped producing aircraft? So this is a dead end aviation. The future belongs to small aircraft. The most able-bodied and active workers leave to work in other countries ... So they revive the Ukrainian economy with their transfers! Zarobitchans - donors of currency for Ukraine!
The latest achievement of Ukrainian propaganda can be considered ... Lend-Lease! The war waged by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the punitive in the Donbass will soon be on par with World War II. The Great Patriotic Ukraine has already surpassed. Probably, this circumstance caused associations among local journalists.
In short, more and more often in the Ukrainian press began to call the supply of weapons and military equipment a new Lend-Lease. Here is an example from one of these opuses: “... American aid to Ukraine is somewhat reminiscent of American Lend-Lease during the Second World War (of course, in much more modest amounts). It was impossible to win that war on one Lend-Lease. But would she be able to win without Lend-Lease? ”
We are not milked! This is an udder massage
We will look at the reports of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on the supply of weapons, equipment and technology over the past years. The number of countries that sell their old weapons left over from the times of the USSR to Ukraine is truly respectable. Ukrainian Lend-Lease somehow feeds 21 (!) Country. The main supplier, of course, are the United States. True, the Americans supply non-Soviet equipment and weapon, and his, withdrawn from the US Army.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, over the five years of the civil war, the benefactors of Ukraine recorded Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Albania, the Czech Republic, Australia, Turkey and even Japan and China.
To the credit of most of these states, with the possible exception of probably the most beloved Ukrainian friends from the Baltic states and Poland, they supplied what was really necessary in the war, but not weapons. This is a uniform, personal protective equipment, medical equipment, dry rations, cars, radio stations and the like. Probably the only goods related to the killing that came from these countries were night vision devices and thermal imagers.
If we summarize all the deliveries from these countries, a fairly serious, but almost invisible amount against the United States sums up over five years: $ 62,5 million. Agree, for military supplies this is a minuscule. And yet, no matter how we relate to the warring parties, the supply of medicines and equipment that saves someone’s life is human.
Yes, the countries listed and “forgotten” by the author earn money in the war. You can talk about the immorality of these actions as much as you like, but the classic “nothing personal, just business” works. Moreover, reproaching these countries for violating something there somehow does not work. Just because they can also hear reproaches about our supplies of humanitarian aid, about the work of our volunteers, and so on.
How to catch Winnie the Pooh
You, probably, noticed that I "removed the great overseas power" out of brackets in the previous part. This is not some kind of special attitude towards the Americans or respect for the amounts that the United States spends on helping Ukraine. The United States has been singled out by me for another reason. The thing is that they are playing a completely different game in Ukraine. Earn a couple of tens or a couple of hundred million dollars in the war of Ukrainians against Ukrainians for Americans is small.
With constant talk of helping poor Ukrainians fight the aggressors from Russia, the Americans are playing their own party, a little like help. Simply put, the United States today acts as a spider for Ukraine. They skillfully weave a network into which Ukraine is gently pushed, while the Ukrainians themselves pay for the network.
Today, approximately the same thing happens as happened in the famous fairy tale about Winnie the Pooh in the episode about the campaign of Piglet and the teddy bear to visit the rabbit. Americans feed Ukraine under beautiful speeches for help, and they themselves carefully look at the diameter of the abdomen. The bear will get into the hole or get stuck and will be in full control of the hospitable rabbit.
For five years, from 2014 to 2019, the United States provided assistance to Ukraine in the total amount of $ 376 million. At first glance, the amount is serious, the Ukrainian army should really become more powerful. And the range of supplies is quite interesting: communication equipment, cybersecurity equipment, radar for counter-battery control, medical equipment for hospitals in the combat zone, night vision devices, thermal imagers, Javelin anti-tank systems, HMMWV armored vehicles, high-speed boats for coast guard, two decommissioned ships of the type Island and more.
Impressive, but if you carefully look at what was delivered, it turns out not at all scary. Old decommissioned Hummer armored vehicles, the same decommissioned ships of the type Island, ATGM, which are forbidden to use in the Donbass.
Moreover, if you change the angle, we will see an even more interesting picture. American interest assistance on 80 is generally not intended for Ukraine. Not even the rustle of American bills to Ukrainians.
A good example is the “alignment” of those 250 million dollars that Trump first blocked, then, this year, unlocked. So, according to the plan of the Americans, only 50 million $ is intended for the purchase of weapons there, the remaining 200 million $ will go to the training of military personnel, the development of logistic support, intelligence support of parts of the Ukrainian army, etc.
"Assistance in the form of funds is not provided, but comes in the framework of cooperation between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and partner countries exclusively in the form of property and services."
This is an official statement by the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
It turns out that the United States supplies property at the expense of Ukrainians, gets rid of old equipment and weapons, while driving Ukrainians into a debt hole, from which the country can no longer get out. It is clear that this is being done with the aim of creating an additional source of danger on the borders of Russia, an additional source of tension. That could be easily controlled from across the ocean.
The arrival of the new president and the young government until recently suggested a sharp change in the country's political course. However, today it is already clear that Zelensky has no understanding of the situation. Arranged by skilled trappers from Washington, the networks of economic and political dependence on the United States cannot be overcome. And the "modern Lend-Lease" for Ukraine is just one of the threads, of which the gossip is strong for Ukrainians ...
- Alexander Staver
- Arek socha
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