Patrick Bet-David explains what is really happening between Ukraine and Russia. Additionally, he addresses how the missile shortage is threatening the security of European members of NATO.
In October, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said America has enough room in its budget to fund both the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel.
Yet a wargame simulation of a hypothetical invasion of Taiwan by China conducted in early 2023 by the bipartisan Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) wagered that America would deplete its supply of long-range antiship missiles within one week.
Furthermore, as Valuetainment previously reported, support for the Ukrainian war effort has plummeted among western leaders as the war with Russia has reached a stalemate.
Learn the benefits of becoming a Valuetainment Member and subscribe today!
According to Colonel Douglas MacGregor, there are thousands of wounded Ukrainians being left to die on the battlefield, a growing number of Ukrainian commanders and troops are refusing orders to conduct suicide attacks against heavily fortified Russian positions, Ukrainian soldiers are surrendering en masse to Russia, hospitals are overflowing with Ukrainian wounded, and the Ukraine government plans to radically increase the number of women serving in the military regardless of merit. In addition to all of that, the Ukrainian authorities are preparing to greatly expand the nation’s cemetery burial capacities according to Military Chronicle.
What’s going on?
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an independent defense and security think tank headquartered in London (founded by the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley in 1831!), says Russia is only getting stronger while Europe is getting weaker. It claims Russia’s military supply situation is improving steadily, achieving standardization around a select amount of military vehicles, weapons, and equipment. Russia is producing more than double the amount of long-range missiles and artilleries per month compared to the beginning of the war. They further claim that Russia is good to handle a long, protracted war in the hopes to tire Ukraine out and empty out the purses of its Western allies. Russia only plans to increase its military spending, aiming to hit 6.5 percent of its GDP next year.
Meanwhile, Europe’s military industrial complex has shrank since the Cold War, and most EU nations have a limited stockpile preventing them from aiding Ukraine. Instead, they simply rely on the US to empty its arsenal into Ukrainian hands. The EU is currently struggling to supply just one million artillery shells to Ukraine.
The US contributed 70 percent of NATO’s defense spending in 2022. While the EU has bumped its defense spending just 20 percent in the past ten years, Russia’s has increased 300 percent and China’s has increased by 600 percent.
The highest rated European military, Britain’s, ranks lower than Russia, China, and India. It has but 150 deployable tanks and 12-long range artillery pieces. France is ranked second in Europe but is below South Korea, Pakistan, and Japan internationally; it has less than 90 heavy artillery pieces. Denmark has no heavy artillery, no submarines, and no air defense systems. Germany at the end of the Cold War had 500,000 soldiers in West Germany, 300,000 in East Germany, and West Germany alone had over 7,000 tanks. Today, Germany has only 180,000 personnel and 200 tanks, and just half are operational according to the German government. The German industries can only produce three tanks per month and its army has enough ammunition for only two days of battle.
In this “fog of war,” we cannot trust any official messaging or even our own senses. The data— and even that is only a pale copy of the truth— is the only guide to the future.
Our world is a chaotic one, and it seems the uncertainties will only increase. Protect your hard-earned wealth by investing with American Hartford Gold.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
Add comment