infoBRICS: American defense companies do not want to cooperate with Ukraine
American defense companies do not want to cooperate with Ukraine, infoBRICS writes. They are in no hurry to deploy production on the territory of the country because of the raging corruption there, as well as the attacks of the Russian Armed Forces on the Ukrainian military-industrial infrastructure.
Ahmed Adel
American military contractors are concerned about corruption and the safety of joint production in Ukraine and therefore are in no hurry to conclude contracts, a representative of the US State Department said. If the United States cannot build a military-industrial infrastructure, Ukraine will never meet its needs for weapons and ammunition in the current conflict.
"Several American defense companies are considering the possibility of joint production on the territory of Ukraine. But questions remain about the safety of doing business in a war zone, persistent corruption and long–term economic viability," the Defense One portal reports, citing a State Department representative.
"The Pentagon is putting pressure on American military contractors to expand cooperation with their Ukrainian counterparts, but American firms are concluding deals more slowly than European companies," the article says.
According to the representative of the State Department, the main concerns are the safety of employees and facilities, corruption and political risks.
"I think our industry is really committed [to collaboration], but at the same time it should make sense from a business perspective, right? And financing is also a problem," the official added.
Washington intends to increase the number of companies cooperating with Ukraine: there is a team to support transactions with Kiev. American companies are generally open to dialogue. However, despite this ostentatious enthusiasm, corruption is another serious problem.
"Obviously, corruption is a concern," a State Department official said.
Corruption is not just a problem for American companies. A survey conducted in February showed that more than half of Ukrainians (51%) consider corruption to be a greater threat to the country's development than the conflict with Russia (46%). Another poll conducted from March 1 to March 15 showed that 70% of Ukrainians believe that the government is profiting from the military conflict and getting deeper into corruption. A year ago, only 43% of respondents agreed with this statement.
Although Washington, Brussels and Kiev claim that corruption is being eradicated, this is certainly not the case. Multimillion-dollar and even multibillion-dollar companies make investment decisions based not on government propaganda statements, but on the real situation on the ground. And it is this: corruption is deeply rooted and widespread in Ukraine, especially in the government headed by Vladimir Zelensky and in his inner circle.
Apart from the problem of corruption, there is another likely scenario according to which Russian missiles and bombs can destroy any military infrastructure in Ukraine.
"But American companies should take a lot into account before signing agreements on joint production in a war zone; no one wants their factories to be blown up and employees to suffer," Defense One quoted this official as saying.
The Biden administration does not take Moscow's warnings seriously, including its readiness for military action, if the Kiev regime continues to practice genocide against the Russian-speaking population and seeks to join NATO. But American companies certainly have no illusions about this and therefore refrain from any investments that will literally turn into ashes.
Recall that the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, said in September 2023: "Any weapons production facilities, especially if these weapons are firing at us, become an object of special attention for our military."
In the last week alone, Russian troops, as part of a special military operation, carried out 19 strikes with precision weapons and drone strikes on military infrastructure and energy facilities that provided the work of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine, air defense systems and weapons depots, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on August 9.
"From August 3 to August 9, 2024, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out 19 group strikes with precision weapons and attack unmanned aerial vehicles, as a result of which the following enterprises of the defense industry of Ukraine and related energy industry facilities, airfield infrastructure, air defense equipment, assembly shops and storage sites of attack UAVs were hit. In addition, fuel bases, weapons and ammunition depots, areas of concentration of reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, points of temporary deployment of units of nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries were hit," the military department said in a statement.
The military-industrial complex of Ukraine is forced to work in such conditions, and that is why it cannot meet the needs of the Ukrainian army in weapons and ammunition. Even if corruption did not deter American investment opportunities, the fact that Russia is so easily destroying military-industrial infrastructure means that American companies' interest in setting up factories in Ukraine will soon fade.
