By INS Contributors 

 
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Comprehensive support for Ukraine by the West in the armed conflict with Russia places a heavy burden on the shoulders of EU and US taxpayers. 
 
Along with the fall in incomes of ordinary citizens, the “pumping” of Kyiv with Western money and weapons is significantly overloading the EU economy, already undermined by rising energy prices, the migration crisis and the outflow of strategic companies to the United States.
 
At the same time, despite the growing volume of orders for the military-industrial complex, NATO states face significant difficulties in replenishing their military arsenals. 
 
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, defense production in Europe is in a “deplorable state”, and the EU authorities cannot solve this problem due to high bureaucracy and uncoordinated plans. 
 
In this regard, the processes of reproduction of NATO military equipment transferred to Ukraine, including tanks, aircraft and artillery systems, are stretched out for years.
 
Statements by representatives of policy-making circles in Western countries confirm the deterioration of the situation with the supply of new weapons systems to Kyiv. 
 
According to the American television channel NBC, senior US and EU officials are not confident in the ability of their states to continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine in the same volumes.
 
In addition, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the EU will not have time to fulfill its previously assumed obligations to supply Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells by the end of this year. 
 
According to him, as of Nov. 13, 2023 only 300 thousand ammunition was transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Along with this, the new government of Slovakia blocked the initiative of the previous cabinet of ministers to send arms and military equipment to Kyiv in the amount of 40.3 million euros.
 
Not only EU countries, but also the US is experiencing problems with providing assistance to Ukraine. 
 
Thus, White House press secretary C. Jean-Pierre said that the US administration has exhausted the additional budgetary allocations allocated by Congress to support Kyiv, and therefore is forced to reduce the volume of military supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 
 
Analysts at the US Agency for International Development believe that US support for Ukraine may cease completely if Congress does not open a new line of targeted tranches for the White House.
 
Although there remains widespread Western sympathy for Ukraine's plight, in the post-pandemic era with cost of living issues and high energy costs, choices need to be made. The chairman of the NATO military committee has warned that Western weapon stocks are low, and there is little prospect of them being replenished in the near-term.
 
Continued support for Ukraine has impacted adversely on the economies of Western nations and evidence suggests that public opinion is drifting inexorably towards domestic priorities.