Why Does US Continue to ‘Fan the Flames’ of Ukraine Conflict?

On Thursday, the US Department of Defense announced an additional $400 million in military aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing special military operation in the country.

The US continues “to fan the flames” of the Ukraine conflict by investing heavily in “the war industry,” a US-based expert believes.

In a nod to the ongoing Russian special military operation in Ukraine, he pointed out that most Americans are “not on board with their government’s strategy of pouring endless weapons into Ukraine’s war with its nuclear-armed neighbor and hoping for the best.”

According to him, Americans are alarmed about the costs of the Ukraine conflict for Washington given that “more than 60 billion taxpayer dollars have already been spent, with much of that money filling the coffers of US arms manufacturers.”

The expert argued that the US arms manufacturers who remain the most influential business groups directing the country’s foreign policy.

“Bomb makers like Raytheon require zones of active conflict to meet Wall Street’s profit expectations. Manufacturers of big-ticket items require hostile relations with larger nations like Russia and China to justify new sales of aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, F-35 fighter jets, and new generations of nuclear bombs”, he added.

As for the conflict in Ukraine, it “has been a bonanza” for the US arms industry, the expert claimed, recalling about NATO’s eastward expansion toward Russian border ahead of Moscow’s special operation in Ukraine which was launched on February 24.

According to him, “the 2014 US-backed coup [in Kiev] that ousted Russia-leaning president Viktor Yanukovych opened the door to a policy of arming Ukraine.”

The Russian special operation “accelerated the profiteering, as American taxpayers were required, without hearings or debate, to purchase billions of dollars’ worth of weapons from US arms makers for shipment to Ukraine. As of the end of October, the US had committed $18 billion in arms and other equipment to Ukraine” since the start of the operation, the expert added.

The remarks followed the Pentagon announcing earlier this week that they will send $400 million more in its military aid to Ukraine, including four highly mobile Avenger air defense systems, 400 grenade launchers, 100 Humvees, and 20 million rounds of ammunition for small guns.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington and its allies against their arms supplies to Kiev, which the Kremlin says contributes to further escalating the Ukraine conflict. Earlier this year, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cautioned that “any weapon, [and] any arms shipment on the Ukrainian territory" would be considered “a legitimate target” by the Russian military.

The Kremlin also warned of a threat that those weapons could wind up on the international arms black market thanks to the corruption rampant in Ukraine.