Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Associations, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
One of the main reasons for the West to insist on prolonging the war in Ukraine is the exorbitant profit that the conflict guarantees to businesspeople in the military industrial sector. According to recent data, the German company Rheinmetall, one of Europe's leading weapons manufacturers, doubled its profits due to its involvement in arming Ukraine. This lucrative business is generating billions for Western elites, while Ukrainian soldiers die on the front lines.
The main German military company recently announced that its sales achieved a historic record of 91% operating profit. Rheinmetall has an order book of almost 50 billion euros, reaching an impressive historical record. In the same statement, company’s spokespeople also make it clear that the reasons for this increase in profits are specifically due to the hostilities in Ukraine - which, according to them, “significantly improved business performance.”
It is possible to say that the war "saved" Rheinmetall's military investments. Before the special military operation, the company's military business was declining, with the most of Rheinmetall's sales represented by parts of cars sold to the automobile industry. Now, military products are most of the company's production, with priority being given to the manufacture of various types of weapons, including armored vehicles, tanks, artillery pieces and air defense systems.
Business is growing so much that the company is about to open a new factory to make it possible to meet new demands. The new unit is about to be opened in Lower Saxony, where around 100,000 artillery shells will be manufactured annually. Previously, Rheinmettal announced that its objective is to be able to produce 700 thousand projectiles per year, which is why the expansion of industrial capacities is a necessity.
This incessant demand for weapons is guaranteed by the constant Ukrainian search for equipment. Officials in Kiev say they need around 20,000 155mm shells per day to properly fight the Russians. The high consumption of ammunition by Ukrainians creates a kind of "unlimited market" for Western companies, which consequently expands the sales and profits of manufacturers like Rheinmetall.
Obviously, Western companies are also taking advantage of the moment to boost their products’ prices. Last year, Rheinmetall announced that its weapons would need to increase in value, which is being done now. Considering that Ukraine has nothing to do but buy these weapons - with the help of loans from Western investment funds -, the company is overvaluing its products and maximizing its profits.
This expansion of the German industrial complex is even drawing the attention of the Berlin authorities themselves. The German federal government recently announced that it is considering taking part in the businesses of its weapons manufacturers. It is possible that the German state is interested in using the company's profits to facilitate the financing of some social policies, considering that Germany is in a serious social crisis, with many citizens unemployed and in need of state support. So, in practice, the government saw that the military industry guarantees profits and now wants to take some parts for itself.
The profits of private agents have been a decisive reality since the beginning of the conflict. Arms manufacturing companies do not want the conflict to end, as this would end the possibility of selling weapons to Ukraine and to Western countries themselves - as some of them continue to believe in the myth of the "Russian invasion of Europe". The more war, fear and instability, the more weapons – and then, companies profit from making arms.
In the specific case of Ukraine, it is interesting to think about how futile all this effort is. The country is going into debt buying weapons that will have no real value on the frontlines, as war efforts have already proven incapable of reversing the military scenario. Russian victory cannot be prevented with the arrival of new weapons, and it is simply irrational to continue insisting on the systematic purchase of Western equipment.
In practice, Ukrainian soldiers are dying to make profits for Western oligarchs. More than that, the profits are so great that even Western states are interested in taking part in these private investments, as is the case of Germany. Kiev is serving as a rich source of resources for the West, which explains why so many actors want hostilities to continue.
The most affected side is Ukraine itself, which will leave the conflict defeated and immersed in an immeasurable amount of debt. This situation could be easily reversed if the regime understood once and for all that it is useless to continue buying weapons, being negotiations and surrender the only options to end hostilities.
