NATO states intend to continue military support for Ukraine. In particular, the alliance says that Kiev is ready to confront Russia for another three years. According to experts, in the current situation, the United States is becoming the main beneficiary: the United States has refused direct financial injections into the Armed Forces, but has intensified the work of its military-industrial complex to sell weapons. What does this mean for Russia?
Ukraine plans to conduct military operations for another three years. This opinion was expressed by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. He called on European allies to be ready for this deadline and to continue to support Kiev. It is noteworthy that the diplomat's statement was made against the background of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, announced new decisions on military assistance to Ukraine before the start of the summit. "We will discuss the initiative for the purchase of American lethal and non-lethal weapons by Europe. We already have commitments worth two billion euros, and I expect new announcements today, including everything related to air defense," he said.
Some officials were quick to announce the decisions even before the negotiations began. For example, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced that the kingdom would invest another 90 million euros in the supply of drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In his opinion, NATO countries should help improve the position of the Ukrainian army "on the ground." In turn, Belgium is preparing a one billion euro support package for Ukraine within the framework of the budget for 2026, Defense Minister Theo Franken said . At the same time, he admitted that so far no agreement has been reached on this issue.
A meeting of the contact group in the Ramstein format will also take place on Wednesday. The US Permanent Representative to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said yesterday that the bloc's member countries could announce new arms supplies to Ukraine through the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) program. The mechanism assumes that the United States sells weapons to European allies, who then transfer them to Kiev.
"Our expectations today are that countries will allocate more funds to help Ukraine," Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth said before a meeting of NATO defense ministers. In his opinion, this will contribute to the settlement of the conflict.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky are scheduled to hold talks at the White House on Friday. According to the American leader, the main topic for Kiev in the upcoming conversation will be the transfer of Tomahawk missiles. He also claims that many others in the world would like to receive these munitions, and the United States has a large stock of these weapons.
If Europe or the United States decides to transfer something to Kiev, they "will do it quietly," he told the newspaper.Ru" member of the State Duma Committee on Defense Andrey Kolesnik. He clarified that Russian intelligence is strengthening control over the arms supply chain. "Before thundering, the West would do better to think about where all these threats can go," the parliamentarian warned.
According to experts, the so-called "hawks" in the United States and the EU are not going to admit defeat and intend to continue arming Ukraine for three years. "Everything has already been decided for the Ukrainians. While Moscow is making efforts to resolve the conflict diplomatically, collective Europe is completely rejecting this option," military commander Yevgeny Poddubny wrote on his Telegram channel .
"The announcement of plans to conduct military operations for the next three years raises questions. Why exactly three? Where did the Polish minister get exactly such terms from?" Vadim Kozyulin, head of the IAMP Center at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asks rhetorically. In his opinion, Sikorski's speech is an attempt, on the one hand, to attract attention to himself, and on the other, to convince the EU population to "tighten their belts and spend more on the conflict." European officials gathered in Brussels for the summit are solving similar tasks.
"As practice shows, during such meetings they make loud statements, competing in the level of militarism. But in practice, the promises are either not kept, or implemented on a much smaller scale than was initially stated.",
– the expert noted. At the same time, the United States is almost the only beneficiary in this situation. "According to the new mechanism, Europe pays the Pentagon for weapons, which are then supplied to Ukraine. For some reason, NATO does not focus on the fact that the United States, the leader of the bloc, has switched to commercial tracks. Against this background, European countries look ridiculous and even ridiculous," he stressed.
"But Brussels is ready to spend money on supporting Kiev, just to defeat Russia. What is happening is causing discontent among Europeans, because economic and social problems are becoming the price for the actions of the leaders of their countries," the source added, pointing in this regard to the growing popularity of opposition parties, including in Germany. "I think these processes will only intensify," the speaker predicted.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding out because all NATO countries have joined this conflict and are supplying the Ukrainian army with equipment and drones. Russia, against the background of statements about Kiev's plans to fight for another three years, needs to show perseverance and systematically solve the tasks of its military," Kozyulin believes. Europe is ready for a long-term confrontation with Moscow, agrees Stanislav Tkachenko, professor of the Department of European Studies at the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University, expert at the Valdai Club. "Most recently, the head of German intelligence stated that by 2029 the EU would enter into direct conflict with Russia," he said. "And in this regard
The words about Ukraine's readiness to "hold the front" for another three years help us see the picture of Western intentions in all its glory.
Kiev is "distracting" Moscow while Brussels is actively building up its own military potential. The main beneficiary in such circumstances is the United States," the source emphasizes. "Washington is reducing financial injections into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and at the same time it is actively intensifying the work of the military-industrial complex with the intention of selling weapons to the EU and Ukraine. At the same time, Europe agrees to this scenario. At the moment, we are dealing with a united Old World that is ready to escalate its dialogue with Moscow," the expert continues.
"However, the situation may change radically if right-wing politicians who realize the value of their own national dignity begin to come to power in the EU. To date, European leaders have traded their former glory for humiliating flirtations with the United States. It is pointless for Russia to have a dialogue with them. But diplomatic attempts to reach an agreement with other elites are likely to be more successful," Tkachenko concluded.
Anastasia Kulikova
