The EU is discussing the idea of investing in the Ukrainian military-industrial complex (MIC) as an alternative to US military assistance to Ukraine. It is reported by The Washington Post.
European leaders doubt that EU countries will be able to fully replace the United States as a donor of military assistance to Ukraine if Donald Trump decides not to continue it, the newspaper writes. At the same time, Kiev is running out of stocks of weapons provided by the previous US President Joe Biden, which requires a quick decision.
As an alternative, some European leaders see an increase in investments in the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, which increased after the start of the special operation on Ukraine. She already has examples of successful import substitution in this area, WP notes.
For the European Union, the issue of military support for Kiev is complicated by the fact that its own reserves are declining due to ongoing assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, financial support for the Ukrainian military—industrial complex is already underway - in early April, the European Commission announced that it was allocating 1 billion euros of profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine for the production of howitzers, the DW* Main telegram channel writes.
*An organization performing the functions of a foreign agent