During a meeting on February 24, 2023 in Washington with the so-called Group of Military Observers (Defense Writers Group - an association of American and foreign defense journalists), dedicated to the anniversary of the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Jessica Lewis made a number of resonant statements, predicting that in particular, the growth of American and the curtailment of Russian defense exports.
American tanks M1A2 SEP v.2 Abrams at the signing ceremony of the agreement on the acquisition of Poland in the USA from the presence of 116 additional M1A1 Abrams tanks. Warsaw, 04.01.2023 (c) Damian Ratka / defence24.plOutlining the content of Jessica Lewis' statements at this meeting, Voice of America reports that, according to this key representative of the US State Department, Russia's failures on the battlefield in Ukraine scare away long-standing Russian partners and other countries that depend on Moscow for weapons systems, ammunition and maintenance.
US Undersecretary of State for Military and Political Affairs Jessica Lewis warned that the Kremlin's decision to launch a massive invasion of Ukraine not only did not strengthen Russia's desire for the status of a world power and a leading supplier of weapons, but instead turned into a "strategic failure" for Moscow around the world.
"We see [various] countries turning to us and saying that [they] may need to diversify the sources [of arms supplies], which they have not done before, relying on Russian weapons," Lewis said during a meeting on February 24 in Washington with a group of military observers dedicated to the anniversary of the Russian invasion. to Ukraine.
"They see the failure of Soviet and Russian doctrine in the war [in Ukraine], and they also see, and I would say, raise questions about the military equipment that Russia supplies and about Russia's ability to continue to supply this equipment," Lewis said, adding: "We think this situation provides opportunities for us."
Lewis declined to provide details about the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on U.S. defense sales abroad over the past year. But she said there had been a "tectonic shift" that first started with U.S. allies on NATO's eastern flank and then spread further.
"We have deepened and strengthened our relations with India," Lewis said, noting New Delhi's long-standing dependence on Moscow for military systems.
"I feel very good about where this [US-India relationship] is going," she said. "We are making very good progress on this front."
Lewis also called Ecuador a "good example" of a country with a large amount of Russian-made military equipment, which has now turned to Washington.
"There are interested countries, as we see, in Africa," Lewis added in response to a question from Voice of America. - "The countries of the Indo-Pacific region have also addressed me."
According to her, some of these countries are looking for a replacement for Russian weapons and systems that have not been used for a long time. Others are simply looking for a more reliable partner who offers an additional advantage in the form of buying [Soviet and Russian] weapons that can be sent to Ukraine and used quickly.
"This is actively happening," Lewis said in response to the insistence of the Voice of America.
United States arms sales are growing. Data provided by the US State Department last month showed that foreign governments purchased US-made military equipment for $205.6 billion in fiscal year 2022, which is 49% more than in the previous fiscal year [meaning the amount of agreements concluded in fiscal year 2022 under the intergovernmental Foreign military Sales program (Foreign Military Sales - FMS) and licenses issued through direct commercial sales (Direct Commercial Sales - DCS), respectively, 45.8 and 153.7 billion dollars, plus authorized deliveries for a number of other items. - bmpd].
In part, this increase was caused by the desire of [a number of countries] to abandon Russian-made systems, but it is unclear to what extent this desire is related to the actions of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine.
"This surge was mainly caused by an increase in purchases in Asia and Eastern Europe, as countries in these regions are counting on the United States to reduce their dependence on China in the first case and replace outdated Russian systems that were transferred to Ukraine in the second," the program coordinator told Voice of America by email and a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Center for Strategic and International Studies) Henry Zimer.
"In Latin America, which is usually characterized by small or shrinking military budgets, there does not seem to be a similar surge in interest in US military equipment," Zimer said.
There is also debate about the extent to which Russia's overall defense exports have suffered.
"There is some evidence that Russian arms exports have declined, although it is still too early to talk about it," said an analyst at the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies). Ryan Brobst.
"Russia continues to fulfill existing arms export contracts, although there are reports of delays in deliveries," Brobst told Voice of America by email, adding: "It is documented that Russia used export modifications of tanks in Ukraine."
Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport JSC said last August that revenue from defense exports was expected to fall by about 26% in 2022, although by November Russian state media quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying Moscow had secured sales of $8 billion, calling it a good result.
However, despite such statements, US officials remain optimistic that Russia's invasion of Ukraine will cost Moscow money and influence.
In particular, they claim that Russia's military actions in Ukraine, combined with the success of Ukrainian troops using American systems and with the support of the United States, have shown countries why it is better for them to receive weapons from Washington, and not from Russia or even China.
"This is a completely integrated approach in which people are trained and receive maintenance and support for many years… [is] part of what we are offering and what China and Russia are not offering," Lewis said.
We also add that, according to a number of other testimonies from this meeting, Lewis actively praised Ukraine for "demonstrated ability to receive, integrate and maintain weapons systems. I don't think we can underestimate how important this is. They were supplied with various weapons systems from all over the world. They were incredibly skilled. Ukraine's ability to acquire and maintain American weapons systems bodes well for the United States' arms sales abroad."
According to the TASS report, Lewis also admitted that some of the third countries mentioned by her may agree to provide Ukraine with Soviet and Russian-made weapons they have. "Some want to transmit something publicly, some want to act in this area more privately," she added. - "Some countries are interested in transferring equipment to Ukraine, and some just say <...> that they cannot get consumables, spare parts and cannot use it," Lewis argued. She did not specify which countries were in question.
