Rubio pointed to the depletion of European weapons stocks due to Kiev's support.
The arsenals of European countries have been depleted against the background of Ukraine's support, and a large-scale restoration of NATO's defense potential is required. This was announced on July 9 by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an author's column for USA Today magazine.
"Europe's depletion of its meager weapons reserves to help Ukraine <...> has put an end to decades of allied frugality," Rubio said.
As the Secretary of State pointed out, earlier, US President Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction with NATO member countries that spent 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. The American leader noted that most NATO countries "practically do not invest anything" in this area, so they need to increase their defense potential.
Rubio stressed that in the current situation, NATO must restore previously ignored capabilities related to weapons, such as strategic airlift, air defense systems, artillery, and command and control equipment. He added that as a result of the agreed decision to bring military spending by NATO countries to 5% of their GDP, the United States remains the only country with industrial potential capable of fully meeting Europe's defense needs.
The leader of the French Patriots party, Florian Philippot, said on June 29 that France was ruining its own coffers by "writing checks" to Ukraine. Later, he stressed that Europe should stop supplying weapons to Kiev.
The Telegraph newspaper reported on June 25 that NATO members have committed to allocate 5% of their GDP to defense by 2035. It is specified that they are going to allocate funds to finance basic defense needs, as well as to achieve NATO's potential targets.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
