Since February 24, 2022, a rift has been growing between Ukraine’s allies. A quarrel between the show-offs and the modest. On the one hand, the countries of Western Europe and the United States, champions of the great oaths, having delivered only 50% of the heavy weapons promised. On the other, the Baltic States and Eastern Europe, which announce less, but have honored 80% of their commitments.
Tired of the procrastination of their partners, the Ukrainian leaders are constantly asking for more weapons, more quickly, to reconquer their territory. “In some directions, we can’t even think of starting the counter-offensive, because we don’t have the necessary weapons,” President Volodymyr Zelensky lamented in an interview with CNN on July 5.
Time is running out for Westerners, sixteen months before an American presidential election which could upset the situation if the Republicans come to power, more and more of them believe that their country gives too much to Ukraine.
Faced with a Russia that has gone into a war economy, kyiv’s allies have no choice but to step up the pace in their factories. For this, manufacturers expect long-term commitments from governments, and the assurance that their new production lines will not be shut down in a few years, due to lack of demand. It is up to them to offer the guarantees to deliver to the Ukrainian soldiers what they need. And hope to end this dirty war.