Report Suggests Eastern European Arms Industry Is Booming: A report from Reuters revealed on Thursday how the Eastern European arms industry is producing artillery shells, guns, and other kinds of military equipment at a rate not seen since the Cold War.
Arms Flowing into Ukraine
The report reveals how Poland and the Czech Republic are also supplying Ukraine with substantial military aid, coming third and fourth behind the United States and the United Kingdom.
Ukraine is the primary benefactor of the rapid increase of arms production in eastern Ukraine.
However, Russia is also going over seas to get arms. The Kremlin now depends mainly on the support of North Korea and Iran to provide military equipment and supplies.
The report cites multiple government and private arms company officials claiming that the boom in arms production presents an opportunity for the region, suggesting that the conflict is becoming hugely profitable for some former Warsaw Pact countries.
Sebastian Chwalek, the CEO of Poland’s state-owned PGZ, said that there is a “real chance to enter new markets and increase export revenues in the coming years” when taking into account the “realities of the ongoing war in Ukraine” and the attitude of many countries now looking to increase their defense spending.
PGZ already controls over 50 companies that produce weapons and ammunition, but is now preparing to invest as much as $1.8 billion over the next 10 years.
The report indicates that not only are weapons manufacturers cashing in on the conflict, but that the expectation of experts is that the conflict will continue for the foreseeable future.
The dramatic increases in weapons production and spending also appear to support a suggestion by former British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who said in May that the war in Ukraine could last another ten years.
E.U. Accuses U.S. of Profiting from War
While defense contractors in Europe profit from the war in Ukraine, European Union officials claim that the United States is profiting from the conflict.
One senior E.U. official told POLITICO this month that President Joe Biden’s administration is profiting from the conflict while European countries are suffering.
“The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the U.S. because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons,” the senior official claimed.
Josep Borrell, a top E.U. diplomat, also called on the U.S. federal government to respond to these concerns, claiming that the decisions made by the Biden administration are having an “economic impact” on Europe.
Russian T-80 tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
However, the White House has rejected the claims, insisting that that rising gas prices in Europe were caused by Putin’s “energy war against Europe.”
