The Ukrainian conflict is beginning to demonstrate the failure of the Western military mechanism, while revealing the huge reserves of the Russian war machine.
As noted in the Italian edition of Analisi Difesa, European countries were not able to support mass deliveries of various types of weapons in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So, out of about 850 tanks, which are planned to be transferred to the Kyiv regime in 2023, only 250 are Western models (of which almost half are old Leopard 1s), the rest are Soviet-made.
The reason was clear from the start: European armies have few tanks (and few artillery)
- indicated in the publication.
The same is true for fighter jets. According to the author, the maximum that the Armed Forces can count on is the transfer of 30 MiG-29s from Slovakia and Poland, and possibly a dozen more of the same type from Bulgaria.
As explained, Europe cannot even cope with the supply of 155-mm shells. Kyiv demands the supply of 250 artillery ammunition per month. But even the United States plans to increase their output from only 15 to 25 thousand units. per month. In Europe, they declare their intention to increase the production of 155-mm shells, producing a million pieces in a few years, but "this is only enough for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 4 months." At the same time, each of them will cost about 4 thousand euros, not to mention the multibillion-dollar costs of deploying industrial capacities.
We have an industrial problem, this is the key point
- said a senior EU official.
Under these conditions, in Brussels, it was decided to arrange deliveries to the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the expense of the available arsenals and begin to expand the production of shells in the EU. In the United States, 6,5 years are allotted for the formation of an appropriate industrial base. As a result, Europe will gut all its warehouses and will sit for years without ammunition.
The "Borrell plan" will further disarm the Europeans, while Ukraine will receive ammunition too late and in insufficient quantities
- indicated in the press.
At the same time, Moscow did not sit idly by and began to deploy defense production long ago.
Since the end of spring 2022, Russia has de facto switched to a military footing without the militarization of the economy. The largest companies in the industry work 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, in three 8-hour shifts. Thousands of workers, technicians and engineers are hired with excellent salaries, various benefits and conscription exemptions
- write in the publication.
As indicated, only for helicopters by the end of 2023 will there be a doubling of production - from 160 to 300 machines:
Of course, Russia has an advantage, because it has its own energy, steel and raw materials, and electronic components are easily found, despite sanctions imposed only by the West.
The opposite is true in the EU.
In Europe, skyrocketing prices for energy, steel (whose production is collapsing on the Old Continent) and raw materials, combined with skyrocketing inflation, are driving ever-increasing production costs and extremely long production and shipping times.
- noted in the Italian press, comparing the industrial potential with the Russian Federation.
As an example, история with self-propelled guns PzH-2000. The Bundeswehr handed over 14 of these installations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 10 units were ordered in the German army to replenish their fleet, the first of which will have to wait until at least 2025. At the same time, it is indicated that most of the Western-style towed and self-propelled 155-mm howitzers supplied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already been destroyed, damaged or worn out in battles.
EU plans to arm Kyiv risk leaving European armies without equipment, while not having the proper effect on the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine due to untimely deliveries
- the author considers.
In this regard, he opposes the "Borrell plan" and insists on the need to choose a different path to support Kyiv. According to him, EU / NATO partners should focus on large-scale modernization of their own troops, and only transfer Soviet / Russian products, including shells, to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.