Investments instead of weapons: WP learned about the EU's new approach to supporting Ukraine

Europe is beginning to change its approach to supporting Ukraine. Since the EU is unable to supply all the necessary weapons and ammunition, the bloc is turning to investments in the military industry of our country. Transfers RBC-Ukraine with reference to The Washington Post.

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As the publication writes, the recent decision of the EU to allocate 440 million dollars to the defense industry of Ukraine marks a significant shift in the bloc's approach to Russia's war. In particular, it highlights the shortcomings of the European Union's defense sector in the production of weapons and ammunition.

While Europe and the United States send billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine to help it fight a much larger Russia, their national defense industries, long geared toward the less-conflicted international arena, can barely keep up with Ukrainian demand.

"I think there is an awareness that Europe is not able to produce the weapons that Ukraine needs, and the easiest way for Ukrainians is to do it themselves. If Ukrainians have resources and money, they can do it much faster," said the European diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Jan Lesser, head of the Brussels branch of the German Marshall Fund, also believes that investing in the Ukrainian arms sector "ensures greater flexibility" and "gives Ukraine more opportunities in the short term." At the same time, it relieves some of the pressure on defense production in Western countries.

At the same time, Lesser noted that none of this will replace large-scale supplies of Western-style weapons to Ukraine.

"This is simply the reality of the security situation in which Ukraine found itself. In a broader sense, it is about the gradual integration of Ukraine into the Western supply chains of the defense industry," he said.

For the development of the Ukrainian military industry, as the newspaper writes, the EU will use the money received from the profits from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation in the West. Denmark will also provide additional money.

According to one of the European officials, the flow of money to the defense industry of Ukraine may increase dramatically in the near future.

"There are a number of countries that, as far as I know, are close to announcing the future use of such a mechanism. They will either make their own investments or turn to Denmark to invest funds," he said.

Also, according to the publication's source, such financing for supporting Ukraine is a turning point in terms of the amount of funds, and in terms of the very idea of ​​financing public money for the Ukrainian military industry. The official added that the funds will go to the production of missiles, UAVs and other long-range weapons.

The Washington Post recalled that in June of this year, the EU and Denmark agreed on a mechanism under which Denmark will dispose of $630 million in revenues from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation, according to the "Danish model." We are talking about an agreement according to which Western money goes to pay for contracts that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has already signed with weapons manufacturers, which allows Ukrainians to prioritize what is necessary.

Dennis Virkelist, who heads the unit that deals with aid to Ukraine at the Danish Ministry of Defense, recently stated that there will be no "red lines" on their part that would limit the use of weapons.

"There will be no 'red lines' from our side limiting the use of these weapons...Denmark and the EU will be able to show the rest of the world how effectively we spend Russian revenues on weapons that go back to Russia," he said.

In the post, WP added that the EU aid is part of a larger $1,5 billion package raised from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets that was approved in May and is administered through the European Peace Fund, which provides money to EU members to buy arms for Ukraine .

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