Ukraine/Self Defense a Bridge Too Far for EU?

[tjscott0]

Even if the war ended tomorrow, Ukraine could end up broke by 2026

EU farmers are NOT happy with the flood of Ukraine entering EU markets.
And now EU cement industry is NOT happy with the flood of Ukraine cement into the EU market space.
https://www.politico.eu/sponsored-content/call-for-help-eastern-cement-imports-are-killing-eu-industry/?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_medium=Native&utm_campaign=PCA2025

MSN

The Polish military has enough supplies to resist an enemy attack for up to two weeks before NATO reinforcements arrive, Dariusz Lukowski, head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, told Polsat News on March 26.

“I think, depending on how this fight goes, this defense can be carried out for a week or two at today’s inventory levels,” Lukowski said in response to a question on how long Poland could fight on its own before the allies step in.

NATO to Putin: Attack Poland and our response will be ‘devastating’

The EU & US barely have kept Ukraine supplied only by using stored munitions in addition to what they can produce. The US & EU have been slow in building up industrial capacity.
And the EU has just begun rearming. A process that will take years.

It would seem the EU is reliant upon nuclear weapons.

[tjscott0]

Here’s a look at Germany’s defense capability.

How Germany's Bundeswehr could spend billions of euros – DW – 03/26/2025

Some of the Bundeswehr’s equipment is outdated. Since the end of the Cold War, only the essentials have been procured, and much material had simply been patched up until the spare parts ran out.

This has changed since the Bundeswehr was provided with a special fund of €100 billion following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This money is being used to plug the biggest holes, but the Bundeswehr is still a long way from being fully equipped.

There is also an urgent need for action in air defense — something the Bundeswehr has severely neglected in the past. A combination of several interception systems, including Patriot and IRIS-T, is to protect Germany from air attacks in the future.

Some of the equipment has already been delivered, but the Bundeswehr will have to wait years for everything to arrive.

“It will take seven to eight years for submarines, six years for frigates, 2.5 years for tanks and the same for self-propelled howitzers,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said recently.

The Bundeswehr operates a number of different reconnaissance drones. Its five Heron TP drones, which are the size of a small aircraft, can be armed.

But the Bundeswehr lacks combat drones, as there are no guidelines and regulations for their employment. Drone technology is developing at a rapid pace. The planning and procurement processes in the Bundeswehr are excruciatingly slow and often take several years.

The Bundeswehr has only a relatively small stock of ammunition. After the end of the Cold War, stocks were reduced and production capacities cut. Not only that, the Bundeswehr has transferred a large part of its stocks to Ukraine in the past few years, including 427,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, in the standard 155-millimeter caliber.

while the German armaments industry is trying to ramp up its capacities in general, it can’t do so overnight.

The Bundeswehr is also lagging behind when it comes to digitalization.

[Leap1]

@tjscott0

The EU & US barely have kept Ukraine supplied only by using stored munitions in addition to what they can produce. The US & EU have been slow in building up industrial capacity.
And the EU has just begun rearming. A process that will take years.

It would seem the EU is reliant upon nuclear weapons.

You should see the other guy.