Ukraine Requesting Allies Give One Per Cent Of GDP To Fight Russia

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ndrij Melnyk, who is becoming well known beyond the borders of Ukraine for his persistent campaigning to push the envelope on military donations to Ukraine and being one of the loudest voices demanding larger numbers of tanks, Western jets, and even warships, made the comments on a German television political show this week, where he said Western nations had to cross their own “red lines” to send more equipment. The former ambassador to Germany, now Ukrainian government minister, said “this will not be an easy undertaking, but a Herculean task.”

The Ukrainian diplomat now working as a full-time procurer of military equipment, Melnyk says Ukraine very much appreciates the near-$37 billion the United States is already providing in military aid but more — much more, in fact — is needed.

To fight Russia, Ukaine’s allies should “pledge one per cent of their GDP to the attacked country,” Germany’s Die Welt reports Melnyk as having suggested. While the politician praised efforts so far, saying he didn’t wish to downplay the billions already given, Melnyk pointed out that the United States spent half its GDP on fighting during the Second World War.

As things stand, with the GDP of the United States at over $23 trillion, Melnyk’s call for funding would stand at around $233 billion in military equipment; or over six times as much as has already been spent by Washington to support Kyiv. For Germany, giving one per cent of GDP would mean $40 billion, compared to the $15 billion already given.

The suggestion of a massive increase in spending on Ukraine comes as the U.S. reportedly readies itself to announce another $1.2 billion in direct military aid.

The package said to be valued at $1.2 billion will reportedly be used to purchase various air defense equipment for the country, along with more ammo for artillery and rocket systems.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the Biden Administration could announce the newest round of military funding as early as Tuesday, with the package set to coincide with a Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces.

It would bring the U.S.’s total military aid contribution to Ukraine to $36.9 billion since the war began, with the country having already announced multiple separate munitions packages valued at well over $1 billion dollars just last month.

However, unlike many previous American donations, the equipment being sent east by the Democrat government as part of this package will reportedly not be sourced from existing Pentagon munitions stocks.

Instead, the Federal Government will reportedly use taxpayer dollars to purchase brand-new equipment from various defense contractors, which will then be delivered to Ukraine over the coming months and years.

Overall, government officials expect the funds to be spent on HAWK air-defense missile systems, air-defence munitions, drones designed for air defence, artillery, rockets, satellite imagery assistance, and funding for ongoing maintenance and spare parts for a variety of other weapons and equipment already used by the Ukrainians.

Criticising Germany in particular for the amount of equipment donated already, Melnyk called for ten per cent of their military inventory — “that would be 50 fighter jets” — and said the pace of tank delivery was too slow.

While the words are stark, they are by no means unusual for Melnyk, who works persistently to grow the Ukrainian armoury. He made similar remarks in April, when he said Ukraine needed ten-times more military aid to end the war in 2023, again using the imagery of “red lines” that Western nations needed to get over to give him more support, and citing the one per cent of GDP figure. Sometimes the rhetoric is even more strident: weeks earlier, Melnyk had accused Germany of being “small-minded” for not doing more to fight Russia.✪

▶️ 11 Minutes 37 Seconds ⭐️ Gary Brown

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