By Manlio Dinucci (Grandangolo on ByobluTV, Italy
War continues to spread across Europe because it is fundamentally fueled by the very strategy that caused it to erupt. After the summit with Putin in Alaska, Trump said that if an agreement were reached between Russia and Ukraine, the United States would not send troops to Ukraine but would provide Kiev with air support and intelligence as a ‘security guarantee’.
Troops would, however, be sent to Ukraine by certain European countries. The US Joint Chiefs of Staff report that, in order to finalise this plan, US General Dan Caine has summoned the chiefs of staff of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Ukraine to the Pentagon.
The Kremlin has reiterated that it does not accept this plan: ‘The military personnel sent to Ukraine,’ said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, ‘would be mainly from NATO member countries. And it is precisely NATO's expansion into Ukraine that has been one of the main causes of the current conflict.’
Immediately afterwards, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte traveled to Kyiv, where he held a press conference with President Zelensky. During the conference, Rutte stated: “Our support for Ukraine is unconditional and continues to grow, including through a flow of US lethal weapons financed by NATO's European allies and Canada.
"Three arms packages, each worth $500 million, have been provided so far: one paid for by the Netherlands, one by Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and one by Germany. More packages will follow. Allies are supporting Ukraine's defence industry and investing in ways that strengthen both your security and your economy. We are working with the NATO command in Germany to ensure that your armed forces have what they need, both today and in the future."
Immediately afterwards, Canada purchased a fourth package of US weapons for Ukraine, bringing the total value to £2 billion and filling the coffers of major US arms industries.
At the same time, the European Union has provided Ukraine with an additional €4.05 billion: €3.05 billion through the Ukraine Facility, and €1 billion from the reinvestment of proceeds from frozen Russian assets. Since February 2022, the EU and its member states have collectively invested €168.9 billion in Ukraine.
EU's Ursula von der Leyen has guaranteed that "Europe will stand by Ukraine every single day of the war and every single day of the post-war period".
These and other enormous war expenditures, consisting of public money, are paid for directly and indirectly by European citizens through taxes and cuts in social spending.
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