Weapons and billions for war

President Joe Biden, receiving Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the White House, said: "The thing I appreciate most about you is the effort from the beginning to bring Nato and the EU together to help Ukraine. Deserved compliments: as the US Congress approves the allocation of $40 billion to arm Kiev’s forces in the war against Russia, in addition to the $14 billion already allocated in March, Draghi has been working to open up a similar channel of funding for the war in Europe through a "European Union Solidarity Trust Fund for Ukraine" and a "resilience package" worth an initial $2 billion provided to Kiev by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

At the same time Mario Draghi and the other leaders of the G7 (which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) have allocated $24 billion to support Ukraine in the war against Russia. Important is also the role of Draghi in the financing to Kiev decided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, amounting initially to about 5 billion dollars.

With this funding, in the months before and after the war, the United States and its allies provided Kiev’s forces with 85,000 missiles, more than 50 million rounds of ammunition of all calibers, including long-range howitzers, drones and other advanced weapons systems. Kiev’s forces, including those of the Azov regiment and other neo-Nazi formations, are not only armed but directed by Nato.

The colossal expenditure for the war against Russia, which is destined to increase and become permanent, is being paid for by the European citizens through cuts in social spending. Added to this is the growing expense of the EU directive to receive and keep all Ukrainians arriving -without needing a visa- in Italy and other European countries.