By Nie Shuyi
聂舒翼
US military personnel stand next to the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at the first World Defense Show in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, on March 6, 2022, local time. (Photo/VCG)
当地时间2022年3月6日，沙特阿拉伯首都利雅得，第一届世界防务展上，美国军事人员站在M142高机动火箭炮系统（HIMARS）旁。（图源：视觉中国）
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict is about to mark its second anniversary on February 24 since its outbreak, the issue of aid to Ukraine has resurfaced in the US media spotlight. Over the past two years, it has become no secret that the US has been making profits from this conflict. Recently, the US media has uncovered a fact that the US, which has been instigating the situation in Ukraine, has never been concerned about regional peace and security, but has been fixated on how to secure its own returns and maximize its own interests.
在2月24日俄乌冲突爆发两周年即将到来之际，援乌问题再次成为美媒热议的话题。过去两年，美国借俄乌冲突大发战争财早已不是秘密。近日，美国媒体揭露了这样一个事实：一直对乌克兰局势拱火浇油的美国关心的从来都不是什么和平与安全，而是如何让自己赚得盆满钵满、实现利益最大化。
The US has fattened its military-industrial enterprises by continuously fueling the Ukraine crisis. The crisis has led to a surge in orders for weapons and ammunition from the US defense industry, including both direct military supplies procurement for aid to Ukraine by the Pentagon, and European countries' purchases from the US for filling their inventory gaps generated by supporting Ukraine. The statistics show that of the more than USD 80 billion major US arms sales projects in FY2023, around USD 50 billion in munitions went to its European allies, more than five times the historical normal level in the transaction scale. According to data from the Federal Reserve, the US defense and space industry output value has increased by 17.5% since the eruption of the Ukraine crisis in 2022. The US media quoted White House officials as saying that a portion of USD 60.7 billion of the recent USD 95 billion emergency spending package has been earmarked for Ukraine, 64% of which will actually flow back to the US defense industry.
美国不断给乌克兰危机拱火浇油，养肥的是美国军工企业。乌克兰危机令美国国防工业的武器弹药订单激增，其中既包括五角大楼直接采购的对乌克兰军援物资，也包括欧洲国家为填补援助乌克兰产生的库存缺口而向美国进行的采购。数据显示，美国2023财年超过800亿美元重大军售项目中，约500亿美元军火的去向是欧洲盟国，这个交易规模是历史正常水平的5倍多。美联储的数据显示，自2022年乌克兰危机爆发以来，美国国防和航天工业领域的工业产值增长了17.5%。美国媒体援引白宫官员的话称，目前在950亿美元的追加国防预算案中，有607亿美元指定用于乌克兰，其中64%实际上将流回到美国国防工业。
The Ukraine crisis has not only driven profitability for the US defense contractors but has also proved highly lucrative for its energy industry. According to reports, disruptions in Russian gas supplies have led to a sharp rise in energy prices and inflations in Europe and spurred their demands for US liquefied natural gas (LNG). The US became the world's largest LNG exporter last year, and the exports of their approved LNG projects are anticipated to nearly double in magnitude by 2030, with about two-thirds being directed to Europe.Alex Munton, Director of Global Gas & LNG Research at Rapidan Energy Group, an energy consulting company in the US, said that the five new LNG projects under construction in the US, with a total investment of about USD 100 billion, mostly begun to be built after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, and these large-scale arrangements have greatly benefited the US economy. For the Washington politicians in the election season, the economics of the aid to Ukraine has also become a chip for them to seek personal political interests. Biden administration officials just said that the money for Ukraine is actually contributing to rebuilding the US defense industrial base, initiating and expanding ammunition production lines, and providing job support for 40 states of the country. According to a report released by the United States Department of Defense on January 15, Pennsylvania and Arizona will each receive more than USD 2 billion in funds, while Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina will receive about USD 500 million funds. Given that these targets are all crucial swing states in the 2024 presidential election, the US media said that the White House hopes to reap political gains by influencing voters in these states with the input.
从乌克兰危机中渔利的不仅是美国军工企业，美国能源行业也大发横财。据报道，俄罗斯天然气供应的中断导致欧洲能源价格和通胀率急剧上升，同时刺激了欧洲对美国液化天然气的需求。美国去年成为全球最大的液化天然气出口国，预计到2030年美国已批准项目的液化天然气出口量将增加近一倍，其中约2/3将出口到欧洲。美国能源咨询公司拉皮丹能源集团的全球天然气和液化天然气研究主管亚历克斯•芒顿说，在美国建设中的5个新液化天然气项目总投资约为1000亿美元，这些项目大多是在俄乌冲突爆发后才开建的，这些大规模投资让美国经济受益匪浅。对进入大选季的华盛顿政治圈来说，对乌援助的“经济账”也成了政客们谋取个人政治利益的筹码。拜登政府官员就表示，援助乌克兰的资金事实上正在重建美国的国防工业基础，启动和扩大弹药生产线，并为40个州提供就业支持。美国国防部1月15日公布的一份报告显示，宾夕法尼亚州和亚利桑那州都将获得超过20亿美元的资金，密歇根州、威斯康星州和北卡罗莱纳州则将获得5亿美元左右的投资。而这几个州都是在2024年大选中具有关键意义的摇摆州，美媒称，白宫希望通过投资以影响这些摇摆州的选民，从而“获取政治利益”。
Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean of the Yale School of Management, and Steven Tian, director of research for the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, wrote in a paper that "Supporting Ukraine is in our self-interest, and America is the single biggest winner from supporting Ukraine." The economic calculation by the US media again revealed the truth underlying the so-called US support for Ukraine, that is, stoking fires for others while amassing wealth for itself.
耶鲁大学管理学院副院长杰弗里•索南菲尔德和领导力研究所研究主任史蒂芬•田撰文称，“支持乌克兰符合我们的自身利益，美国是支持乌克兰的最大赢家。”而美国媒体算的“经济账”再度暴露了美国所谓“支持”乌克兰的真相——拱别人的火，算自己的账。
Editor's note: Originally published on haiwainet.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
