Posted on 10/18/2022 9:28:37 PM PDT by kiryandil
A much-touted EU fund meant to help countries replace weapons shipped to Ukraine is increasingly unable to cover an influx of reimbursement requests — and it hasn’t even sent out its first payment.
Days after Russia’s war began, the EU set up a €500 million pot, encouraging countries to arm Kyiv and ask the EU to foot the bill. After looking at the receipts it received, Brussels determined it could cover about 85 percent of the costs, according to estimates shared by three diplomats.
Then the EU authorized an even bigger pot — eventually totaling €1.5 billion. That’s when the flood of receipts started. The EU got so many requests that it calculated Brussels could only cover roughly 46 percent of the asks, the estimates show.
The plummeting percentage angered Poland, one of the EU’s largest weapons donors to Ukraine — and a leading reimbursement seeker, having submitted €1.8 billion in receipts, according to the diplomats. For days, the country blocked a final agreement on disbursing the second tranche of money, hoping to negotiate a higher rate.
"For them, below 50 percent is just too little,” one diplomat noted.
But Warsaw ultimately relented, agreeing on Wednesday to the 46 percent figure, according to diplomats. The move came as frustration mounted among other member countries who saw Poland as standing between them and large EU payments.
Still, the waning payback scheme risks damaging the EU’s reputation as a reliable military partner — just as Ukraine implores Europe for more weapons to aid a counteroffensive and fend off renewed Russian bombardments. Already, EU powers Germany and France are facing criticism for not donating enough, while some smaller countries say they’re running low on supplies.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...
So dry that even Germany has severe, severe issues.
“The German Army (Bundeswehr) has enough ammunition for only one or two days of warfare, the German edition of news website Business Insider (BI) reported on Saturday, citing defense industry and parliamentary sources.”
‘German army has ammo for only two days of war – media’
https://archive.ph/mov4y#selection-903.10-903.63
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“The Ukraine war ‘bubble’ is deflating as the U.S. and Europe reach the bottom of the arms ‘inventory barrel’.”
https://strategic-culture.org/news/2022/10/17/leviathan-super-cycle-ends-western-leaders-pretend-they-didnt-notice/
“The U.S. and Europe are running out of weapons to send to Ukraine”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/28/the-us-and-europe-are-running-out-of-weapons-to-send-to-ukraine.html
‘Ukraine’s Allies Can’t Get Arms Fast Enough as Stockpiles Shrink’
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-10/ukraine-s-allies-can-t-get-arms-fast-enough-as-stockpiles-shrink#xj4y7vzkg
‘US Army exhausts its ability to supply ammunition to Ukraine’
https://www.archyde.com/us-army-exhausts-its-ability-to-supply-ammunition-to-ukraine/
‘US ammunition supplies dwindle as Ukraine war drains stockpiles’
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-08/us-running-out-of-ammunitions-to-send-to-ukraine-war/101515370
GIBS-ME-DAT money!
No less than Pollutico spills on the scam.
Israel is sitting on a huge cache of captured Soviet era weapons and munitions. They could if they wish get billions for these munitions. Yet given current world political realities, they know that in an all out prolonged war they can no longer depend on a prompt resupply from the US. Strategic reserves of aging munitions are too precious to sell.
The longer this goes the easier they make it for Russia to take all of Europe.
Ukraine should be thankful that bullets are cheap given how many they using in their attempts to shot down drones in Kyiv with AK47s, rifles, etc.....just saying.
Alex Christoforo did a fantastic 30 mins on this today.
Anyone who bought defense stocks at the start of this nightmare may have made a brilliant investment.
Very astute observation.
Yeah, that’s where I got the article reference. :)
I guess it is fortunate the US is introducing a new rifle with 6.8 mm ammo.
Who'd a thunk it?
Meanwhile, regime change in Europe continues, with Liz Truss up next on the chopping block.
TWO Brit prime ministers, so far...
Good Lord.
These things will be bricks for how many years, until they get reserve ammo stocks up to a reasonable level?
I often asked early in this war/conflict, especially concerning Zelenskyyidiot steadily begging, groveling, and pleading for more tanks, planes, money, etc., etc., etc., if a blackhole made a sound.
Welp, an answer was given a couple days ago.
“NASA is sharing the sound of a Blackhole....they have named it Ukraine”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK_J05Bx3h8
There's always the Zen koan:
What are you Ukrainians doing with all the arms we already financed for you? Selling them to other countries maybe?
Weapons Kitty
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