They also thought: As a former Soviet country, Ukraine is no stranger to Soviet equipment. These Western friends were very considerate and sent him a series of Soviet-style equipment. The project was called "Ringtausch".

With the huge consumption on the battlefield, the magnificent military aid operation in the early stage is now somewhat inadequate. NATO countries are particularly troubled by the bottomless pit of aid to Ukraine.

They also thought: As a former Soviet country, Ukraine is no stranger to Soviet equipment. These Western friends were very considerate and sent him a series of Soviet-style equipment. The project was called "Ringtausch".

Behind "Ringtausch" is full of laughter and laughter from Eastern European countries. Is the Russo-Ukrainian War really a welfare field for them? I'm afraid the bleeding stage is later.

1. The Limits of Western Countries

The reason why Ukraine can withstand the military pressure from Russia is that the military assistance of NATO countries plays a big role. According to statistics, so far these countries have supported Ukraine with nearly $40 billion in weapons and equipment. What is the concept of

40 billion US dollars? Russia's military expenditure in 2021 ranked fifth in the world at US$65.9 billion, and 40 billion is equivalent to France's one-year defense budget. With such considerable aid, you can imagine how difficult it is for Russia, which is equivalent to fighting more than half of itself.

40 billion US dollars is also a huge pressure for NATO countries.

In the words of a NATO official: Ukraine's ammunition consumption in one day is equivalent to Afghanistan's monthly consumption. In Afghanistan, NATO consumes 300 rounds of artillery shells a day to meet combat needs. But Ukraine firing thousands of artillery shells a day still fails to achieve its combat objectives.

Of the 30 NATO member states, 20 have made it clear that they are unable to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Even France, which has deep pockets, is only willing to set up another 200 million euro fund for Ukraine to purchase French weapons, and is unwilling to provide more.

After all, two "Caesars" were given to Russia for reverse research, and the feeling of being ridiculed was not pleasant.

2. "Ringtausch" plan

As early as the early days of the war, NATO thought that military aid would encounter various difficult problems. Considering that Western equipment is very different from Soviet weapons, and Ukraine is better at Soviet weapons, NATO formulated the Ringtausch plan.

The main content of this plan is that former NATO member states that were members of the Warsaw Pact, such as Czech , Poland , Slovakia , Bulgaria , etc., still hold a large number of Soviet-made weapons. These countries will support Soviet-made weapons to Ukraine, allowing the Ukrainian army to obtain heavy equipment that can quickly form combat effectiveness. Of course,

is not given in vain. Western countries, led by the United States and Germany, have replaced the former with equipment. Either give money, or Germany will provide Leopard 2 and other Western equipment.

This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone. Ukraine has obtained a large amount of familiar Soviet-made equipment, and countries such as the Czech Republic and Poland have obtained modern equipment that meets Western definitions.

A more successful case at present is that Slovakia supported a set of S300 air defense missiles to Ukraine and received compensation for a set of "Patriot" air defense systems from the United States.

Slovakia only has one set of S300 in its hands, which was obtained at a low price after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This system is equipped with 5V55R early-stage air defense missiles with a maximum range of 75 kilometers, which shows how old it is.

The Czech Republic has 90 T72 series tanks in its hands. After receiving sponsorship from the United States and the Netherlands, almost all of them were sent to the front line in Ukraine. Of course,

will have troubles if there are successful cases, such as Poland. Poland has more than 230 T72 tanks in its hands and began to support Ukraine as early as April. But Germany has not fulfilled its promise in the short term. This led to conflicts between Poland and Germany.

In addition to armored equipment, NATO is also discussing repairing old arsenals in former Warsaw Pact countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria to re-produce Soviet standard-caliber 152 mm and 122 mm artillery shells for Ukraine.

3. Wishful thinking

No one probably expected that the Russia-Ukraine war would actually make the Eastern European countries a lot of money. While they cleared out their inventory of Soviet-made equipment, they increased their efforts to produce more arms.

Arms dealers in Eastern Europe are mass-producing guns, ammunition and other military supplies at a rate unprecedented since the Cold War. In the context of the current economic downturn and massive layoffs around the world, only the military industrial groups in Eastern European countries are expanding their recruitment and increasing their production capacity .

For example, the CEO of a Polish arms group said that it will invest US$1.8 billion to expand production in the next 10 years. The plan is more than double the previous goal.

In addition to expanding production, they also purchased Soviet tanks from everywhere. For example, the Czech Republic sells tanks from Bulgaria, and , Slovenia, and get inventory from , Macedonia, and . In this way, more tanks will be shipped to Ukraine, which can replace more Leopard 2 tanks .

looks like abacus and is clanging. Are the United States and Germany all fools? Especially in the hands of Eastern European countries, they all have the export model T72M of the T72 tank . Its performance has long been outdated, and it is an object that takes up space even if it is left to collect dust in the warehouse.

Exchanging this tank for the "Leopard 2" A4 model would be a very good deal.

But the author believes that the real business is later. Now Western European countries are giving sweeteners to Eastern European countries in order to get everyone to help Ukraine. Once the Russia-Ukraine war ends, this batch of Western-style equipment will be a gold-swallowing beast. The United States and Germany have promised to replace the equipment, but there is no warranty.

Therefore, once Western-style equipment is damaged or needs to be upgraded, it will be a considerable expense. The bargains gained in the past will have to be paid for later. It’s hard to say whether the Czech Republic and other countries will still be as high-spirited as they are now.