EU takes heat over Ukraine while US profits from war: Senior officials

The United States has been making huge profits from the Ukraine conflict while its European allies are left out in the cold.

RT on Friday cited a Politico story from a day earlier reporting some senior EU officials were frustrated over the Americans profiteering from war despite the Europeans being grappled with economic hardships due to Ukraine's conflict with Russia.

One senior EU official who was interviewed by the outlet said that the US was the one country that was profiting the most from the conflict because “they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons.”

US weapons manufacturers profiting from Ukraine war: Report

US weapons manufacturers are profiting from the Ukraine war with Russia, with massive increases in procurement orders for US weaponry being earmarked for Ukraine

In the meantime, the US-led sanctions slapped on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine have caused major disruptions in gas deliveries to Europe, and the EU countries are now relying on US firms to provide gas during the cold winter months, which they sell at far higher prices than the Russians, resulting in a drastic increase in cost-of living and high inflation in the EU.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova last week noted that by trying to isolate Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, the EU only “imposes costs on EU countries and their citizens, who are forced to pay out of their own pockets for the strategic blunders of their politicians.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has even gone as far as describing the practice of US energy companies at a testing time as “not friendly”.

When asked about Americans profiteering from the Ukraine-Russia conflict, US President Joe Biden responded by saying he was "unaware" of the matter. 

The US Inflation Reduction Act, an incentive scheme that offers huge subsidies and tax breaks to green businesses, is another bone of contention between the Americans and the Europeans. Brussels is worried that it may potentially be ruinous for the EU bloc’s economy, as it could give American electric vehicle manufacturers an advantage over their EU counterparts in the lucrative US market.

“We are really at a historic juncture,” one EU official told Politico, insisting that, “America needs to realize that public opinion is shifting in many EU countries,” he added.

In the meantime, the US military has been signing huge contracts with weapons manufacturers, pushing them to speed up their arms production.

US speeding up weapons acquisition processes to replace supplies sent to Ukraine

The US Army expedites weapons acquisition to stock up military warehouses emptied due to Ukraine arms shipments.

The US Department of Defense Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, Doug Bush, said on Monday that after delivering some $18 billion worth of weapons to Kiev since February, Washington is scrambling to restock its own emptied arsenals.

In addition to the $18 billion worth of arms to Ukraine, the Pentagon also spent more than $2.6 billion between May and October replenishing key weapons stocks, recent contracting data has shown.

The US Army’s acquisition chief said to speed up its acquisition procedure to replenish its emptied warehouses, which could take years, the military was employing faster-contracting methods that were adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, as the war drags on in eastern Ukraine, the gloomy economic outlook continues to trigger protests across Europe.

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UK teachers, univ. staff, postal workers go on strike

The EU has been witnessing strikes and demonstrations in several countries, as protesters stage walkouts and take to the streets demanding pay increases and better working conditions to cope with the dire economic situation caused by the spiraling energy prices and high inflation.

Experts link the soaring living costs in Europe to both the Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors, most notably, the policy mistakes of EU politicians.

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