The monstrous grin of militarism

EU and NATO countries are hastily transferring their economies to war footing

Any war is not just a series of battles and political intrigues, but also a serious test for the economies of the participating countries. The special military operation, launched by Russia on February 24th last year, is apparently taking much longer than originally intended. The confrontation between Moscow and the collective West is gradually turning into the format of not only a military-diplomatic struggle, but also a competition of economies. Simply put, we are once again returning to the situation of the first half of the last century, when the great powers and their allies, who fought to change the established world order, had to transfer their economies to a military footing. Moreover, the winner, as a rule, was the one who was able to do it more effectively than the opponent.

Russian approach

Now this task will be complicated by the fact that the opposing socio-political formations belong to the same type of society — a consumer society, which is extremely sensitive to even a slight drop in its level of well-being. Politicians and economists on both sides will have to find a reasonable balance between the production of military and civilian goods, or be prepared for a serious decline in public morale.
In Russia, at the moment, the dilemma of guns and butter is being solved by finding a reasonable balance. In February of this year, during Presidential Address to Federal Assembly, President Vladimir Putin said that the country is able to solve strategic problems without dismantling its own economy, “Defence of the country is, of course, the most important priority, but when solving strategic tasks in this area, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past, we must not destroy our own economy.”

Young and aggressive

Moreover, judging by information from open sources, the NATO and EU countries are increasing military production, and this is hardly connected only with assistance programmes to Ukraine. Thus, amid a general increase in military spending in the world in 2022 to $2.24 trillion, 55 percent of this amount, that is, approximately $1.2 trillion, fell on the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, which is almost directly involved in the war against Russia. Moreover, Western Europe spent the most on defence last year, which increased spending to $480 billion, which is 13 percent higher than in 2021.

The most belligerent, as expected, were the neophytes of the alliance: Finland, which sharply increased its military budget by more than a third, and Lithuania, with its jump in spending by 27 percent. Behind them, by a wide margin, are Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland.

The minimum level of military spending by NATO countries was revised last summer and adopted for 2 percent of GDP. Some countries, such as Greece, the USA, Lithuania, Poland, Britain, Croatia, Estonia and Latvia, have already reached the coveted mark and even exceeded it. And Warsaw announced back in January that it wants to bring its military spending to 4 percent of GDP in the near future.

Sirs, credits and tanks 

Poland is accumulating in itself a truly explosive cocktail of Anti-Russian sentiment, territorial claims against its neighbours and rabid militarism. 

The ruling PiS party is truly building one of the largest arsenals in NATO, regardless of the current and future losses to its own budget.

Contracts with South Korea for the supply of 230 multiple rocket launchers, 980 tanks, 648 self-propelled howitzers and 48 fighter jets totalling $12.4 billion have been repeatedly mentioned, as well as the purchase of Abrams tanks and Apache attack helicopters from the United States. Warsaw has made serious progress in acquiring the HIMARS MLRS complex, the first copies of which have already arrived in Poland, and turned its eyes to such weapons as submarines and electronic reconnaissance aircraft, which they urgently plan to purchase in Sweden.
Interestingly, Poland buys South Korean weapons on credit. How the Poles are going to repay their huge debt in the conditions of 20 percent inflation and the approaching recession is completely incomprehensible.
The Duda-Morawiecki’s regime does not offend its own producers. Polish defence plants are literally inundated with orders for various weapons and equipment. Therefore, two weeks ago, Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak signed a contract with Huta Stalowa Wola immediately for 24 Baobab-K remote mining systems, and a day later, the 16th mechanised division, holding the Kaliningrad and Grodno directions at gunpoint, received the 12th batch of self-propelled Rak mortars.

Large military construction

In addition to acquiring huge quantities of weapons, Poland is feverishly building the infrastructure that is designed to ensure the smooth functioning of all this shooting and clanging equipment. In recent weeks alone, at least three alarming facts have become known.
First, near the settlements of Graevo and Kolno (70 and 110 kilometres, respectively, from our lines), the construction of logistic support bases for the 16th mechanised division has been completed. These facilities combine the functions of ammunition depots and military equipment, and have repair facilities.

It seems that by placing its warehouses at a range of literally a pistol shot for our missiles, Warsaw is preparing to carry out a quick breakthrough in the Belarusian direction and, in order to uninterruptedly supply the advancing troops, reduces logistics routes, even with the risk of a missile attack on rear bases.

Secondly, work on the Rail Baltic project, the railway connecting Tallinn and Warsaw, has intensified — railway tracks, marshalling yards and train stations are being hastily repaired. Obviously, the project, originally conceived for the rapid transfer of troops and resources along the borders of the Union State, was needed by NATO for a reason.
Finally, thirdly, Poland announced that the newest cargo terminal in the port of Swinouiste will work in military interests. It will replace Germany’s Bremerhaven as one of NATO’s main Baltic harbours.

Peace Facility — money for war

In recent years, the EU has significantly increased the number of defence programmes and funds and significantly increased their budgets. The European Defence Fund alone is worth more than $8 billion for 2021–2027, which is intended for military research and development of defence capabilities.

But, perhaps, the most influential structure of the EU involved in the development of the military industry is... European Peace Facility. These are the ideas of today’s Europeans about peacefulness and creation.

EPF works in three areas: reimbursement to member states of €1 billion for shells delivered to Ukraine, allocation of another €1 billion to compensate for expenses if Kiev requests it, and stimulation of the development of the defence industry in the EU countries. In addition, if everything is clear with the first two points, then the third one is of interest in the context of preparing the West for a big war. It involves the expansion of existing capacities for the production of 155-millimetre ammunition and missiles, the creation of new and re-profiling related enterprises, the establishment of cross-border cooperation in the military-industrial sphere, the widespread involvement of private firms and the creation of reserves of raw materials and materials. EPF assumed the functions of a supranational body coordinating the distribution of funds and the expansion of the European defence industry. In other words, we have before us the reincarnation of the old unkind German Ministry of Armaments and War Production, which, under the leadership of Speer, provided the Nazi Wehrmacht and the SS with weapons and shells.
Geopolitical tensions in the world tend to intensify. It is obvious that the countries of the West will continue to increase their military spending simultaneously with pumping Ukraine with weapons. Experts predict that by 2026, defence budgets in Europe alone will grow one and a half times. Therefore, the decisions taken in this area in Belarus and Russia look logical and timely.

By Anton Popov