Dear Santa, er… Mr. President
Wassup, Joe? It’s your old pal Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine. Please tell Blinken to stop with the Voldemort jokes. They aren’t funny anymore.
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It’s been a while since we talked. Is it something I said? I noticed that the Republicans threw a monkey wrench into the U.S. funding my war, so is it something I did to get you Americans angry with me? Just tell me and I’ll fix it right away.
I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s not enough. We need more. More of everything. More guns, more bullets, more tanks, more vehicles, more planes, more tanks. More, more, more. You might not believe this, but we didn’t have much in the way of arms when the war began two years ago.
So all I want for Christmas are some of the items on this list. Actually, I want all of them, but I don’t want to seem greedy.
Your friend,
Voldemort
The comprehensive list included weapons Ukraine already has in stock like Abrams tanks and 155 millimeter artillery, as well some weaponry such as F-16s, drones and long-range ATACMS missiles that it has asked for in the past.
But the list has a few surprises including big-ticket items like C-17 Globemaster transport jets made by Boeing (BA.N) and the C-130 Super Hercules made by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N). Boeing’s Apache attack helicopters made the list, as did the Black Hawk helicopter made by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky unit.
But the Ukrainians did not stop there. The documents show Ukraine is also seeking F-18 “Hornet” fighter jets, three types of drones made by General Atomics including the MQ-9B Sky Guardian and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defense system made by Lockheed.
There’s no doubt that Ukraine could use some F-18s, and the THAAD air defense system is top of the line. The question isn’t whether Ukraine needs these weapons systems. The question is whether we should allow Ukraine to possess them.
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There’s also a question of whether supplying Ukraine with these weapons would denude U.S. stockpiles, catching us at a disadvantage if we have to go to war ourselves.
A long-term solution is to revive Ukraine’s moribund arms industry. It will be getting help from some European arms manufacturers who are already building factories in Ukraine.
Ukraine was a major arms manufacturer during Soviet times but has suffered since then from a lack of investment. It has, though, increased its production of weapons, including artillery shells and drones, since the war started.
“We have some products that are unique in the world,” said Anna Gvozdiar, deputy minister at the Ministry of Strategic Industries, speaking before the conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and Thursday.
While other countries are working on sea drones—unmanned vessels that can travel on or below the water’s surface—Ukraine has proven its fleet in combat several times.
Ukraine is a decade away from being able to supply itself with sophisticated arms. Meanwhile, it has to depend on the U.S. and the fast-diminishing patience of the American taxpayer.