The military-industrial complex of the USA ― and the West in general ― doesnʼt keep up with the needs of todayʼs not only global, but also regional war. This became the leitmotif of the American Reagan National Defense Forum, and the report from it was published by Politico. Both arms manufacturers and the Pentagon have expressed concern that if a major conflict with the direct involvement of the United States were to occur soon, the country could quickly run out of weapons stockpile, and the same rapid release may not have time to restore them. For years, the United States has focused on complicated, high-tech defense systems, but little has been produced in terms of the shells, tanks, or artillery that make these complex systems work effectively. The gap in military planning was shown by the Russian-Ukrainian war: Kyiv uses up a new batch of artillery shells, "almost after it receives them", writes the media with reference to the speakers of the conference. Modern people have largely lost sight of the scale of arms production during World War II ― and although arms production in the United States is now at its peak, it is not at all the scale it was then. According to the Pentagonʼs new priorities, local enterprises should increase the production of artillery shells to 50,000 per month by 2025. Part of the weapons should be reserved for allies like Taiwan in case of a sudden attack by China, because without weapons in warehouses it will not be possible to help the partner. Also, in order to cover the lack of weapons, the USA is considering the possibility of transferring part of the technology to its most reliable allies ― Britain, Canada and Australia, in order to expand production there as well.
Last Saturday, Ukraine allowed evacuation in the Kherson region, from the left bank of the Dnipro River to the right, within one day. Correspondents of The Washington Post spent the day there, near the pier in Kherson, where only civilians from the left bank could arrive. On the spot, they observed many different human stories, full of hopes and sufferings. Dmytro Fomin, who has transported people between Kherson and the left bank of the Dnipro River for decades, receives dozens of requests ― to bring a nine-month pregnant woman to the regional center, to transport an older man from Kherson to his wife and children not on the left bank, to unite dozens of families from either the other side. Even when there were hostilities not far from Kherson, he did it, because the Russians did not aim at those crossing the Dnipro. Now he cannot do this ― even with permission from the Ukrainian side. "I know that a Russian sniper can be looking at me from that river bank," he says. Formally allowing evacuation for a day, the Ukrainian troops were unable to ensure the safety of such movements, so only a few people were able to arrive in Kherson by Dnipro during the day at their own risk. Many others, particularly older ones, gathered at the wharf to find out if it would be possible to get from Kherson to the other shore. Their relatives often stayed there, and especially these days in Kherson is no less dangerous and uncomfortable for them than in the temporarily occupied territories, the publication writes.
The article of Agence France-Presse and Voice of America is devoted to the main snack of Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers near the front line ― hotdogs. At kiosks in front-line cities, at gas stations near the battlefields, in railway trains or roadside cafes, this is often the most popular product. A sausage in a bun with several condiments for 40-80 hryvnias is not the kind of food that most soldiers are used to eating at home and not what they consider a healthy meal. "Of course, I wouldnʼt mind eating normal borshch ― but I donʼt cook it for myself, but I want hot and nutritious. And here it is, it will be ready in a couple of minutes," a police officer from Kramatorsk told the publication. "There is no particular choice here. You take what there is." "My wife doesnʼt approve such food. Thatʼs why she doesnʼt know that Iʼm eating hotdogs here," the fighter with the call sign "Сasper" told AFP. "But itʼs already a tradition, such a pit stop ― to take a coffee with a hotdog at a gas station." Local gas stations often give defenders hotdogs for free ― which results in queues of men in uniform at the cash registers and a frequent shortage of sausages, the publication writes.