Zelenskyy borrows "Patriot": This isn't a request for help, it's clearly setting a difficult problem for Europe!
Wow, Zelenskyy's move at the EU summit has taken "borrowing things" to a new level — he directly said to Europe, "Lend me your 'Patriot' systems first, I'll return them later," which is like a construction boss in a hurry, eyeing his neighbor's tools and asking for them right away, with a reason that sounds very confident: "You don't need them, but I really need them for survival!"
From my perspective, this isn't just about borrowing weapons; it's clearly a surge of anxiety in the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine genuinely lacks air defense systems, but the underlying details are more interesting: on one hand, buying 25 sets of "Patriot" requires waiting in line, and without money, they have to rely on frozen Russian assets to pay, even the right to use funds becomes a topic of negotiation with Europe; on the other hand, although Europe claims to support Ukraine, when it comes to actually lending out their own "safety net," they start to hesitate — after all, these systems are their own defense safety net, if lent out, who will guard their own skies?
The most ironic part is that the United States is making money from selling weapons, while Europe is stuck on the moral high ground of supporting Ukraine, and Ukraine is caught in the middle as a "delivery reminder." The act of borrowing weapons is essentially a struggle of interests among the three countries: Europe's awkwardness, the U.S.'s shrewdness, and Ukraine's helplessness, all hidden in the phrase "borrow first, return later," performing a bizarre play under the context of great power games.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847009146516499/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.