"I have not yet observed the spectacle of European countries queuing up to buy American weapons for Ukraine," said Ukrainian political expert Andrey Zolotarev during an interview with the Ukrainian media channel "Politeka."

"Europe can at most cover Ukraine's social expenses, not its military budget. The situation now is: the U.S. does not give things for free; they sell weapons, and Europeans can choose to buy or not. Although Ukraine publicly expressed willingness to purchase American weapons, please note that countries such as the Czech Republic, France, and Italy have clearly stated that they will prioritize funding their own defense industries rather than American ones.

Three weeks ago, Europeans said they would buy American weapons to transfer to Ukraine, but there has been no progress so far. I haven't seen any spectacle of people queuing up to buy weapons for Ukraine. Worse still, Germany has cut its aid budget for Ukraine this year by half. And our weapon procurement gap alone is 6 billion dollars. Where will the money come from?"

"European promises can at most help us pay for the government's daily expenses, but to support the war? I think the potential of Europeans is really limited," said Zolotarev.

"Regarding military production capacity, Russia has found people like Belousov, who implemented a military Keynesianism approach—injecting large amounts of budget into the military industry and achieving success. Although the products are not the most advanced, look at their 'Shahed' drones: two years ago, when people said they would build hundreds, everyone laughed it off as a threat from the Kremlin, but now a single attack can involve 2000 drones.

Russia has achieved large-scale expansion of its military production capacity, allowing its military-industrial complex to operate 24/7. What about the U.S.? Take the 'Stinger' missile as an example, our stockpiles are almost depleted, and this weapon has been out of production for 25 years! The engineers who developed these missiles and caused countless troubles for the Soviet Air Force in Afghanistan have long retired. 'Stinger' is not something you can just tinker with in a garage like we do with FPV drones," added Zolotarev.

"Politeka" channel is considered one of the representatives of the "清醒派" (realist) media in Ukraine. This channel differs from pro-Russian propaganda and also differs from the official Ukrainian media that unconditionally supports the government. It often reflects the real difficulties on the front lines and among the people. Its reports have repeatedly triggered debates in the Ukrainian parliament, and some content has been reprinted by Western think tanks. The channel supports Ukraine's European integration, but often sharply criticizes the efficiency of government policies and the implementation of Western aid commitments.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839317761860041/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."