Russia’s recent strike on Boeing facilities in Ukraine has been portrayed as an attack on American business. The Dow-listed company has maintained operations in Ukraine despite the ongoing war and partnered with Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov in 2023 on joint defense projects.
“This is not just an attack against Ukraine, but also an attack where American business is being hit,” Andy Hunder, President of the ACC in Ukraine, which represents nearly 700 U.S. and international investors and corporate members, told the Kyiv Independent. “This is a war against a world where American businesses are making money and thriving,” he added.
The strike took place after Ukraine’s massive attack during Operation Spiderweb that destroyed hundreds of Russian drones and 41 war planes across four Russian airbases.
The media is portraying the strike on Boeing as an attack on American business. Similarly, the media portrayed the attack on German defense company Rheinmetall, which opened a new facility in Ukraine last year to produce military vehicles, as an attack on German business. The fact of the matter is that this is a time of war, and Russia is targeting defense manufacturing facilities.
If nations began opening or expanding defense manufacturing operations, say in Iran, then Israel and the US would take that as a sign of aggression, if not a direct threat to national security. Russia has repeatedly stated Western aggression is escalating tensions and prolonging the war. So not only are the EU, UK, and US sending countless funding and equipment to Ukraine, but private ventures from these nations are developing almost every piece of warfare equipment there.
The target was not America or Germany; rather, the target was defense manufacturing facilities. Several Western arms manufacturing facilities have opened joint ventures in Ukraine. Germany plans to open additional Rheinmetall facilities. Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft is working with a private Ukrainian weapons manufacturer to build a service center in Ukraine. The KDNS is another German-Franco joint venture in Ukraine that is mass producing weapons to kill Russians. Denmark opened MyDefence to produce counter-drone technology. The United Kingdom has joint ventures BAE Systems and Babcock.
The United States remains the top supplier of arms to Ukraine through private arms manufacturers, supplying around 43% of the weapons used in warfare. However, the majority are produced domestically and imported to Ukraine. The Western-backed military-industrial complex has had a stronghold in Ukraine since the war began. These manufacturers were not operating in Ukraine before 2022. Russia naturally has an incentive to destroy these facilities, but that certainly does not indicate Russia is targeting European nations or the US.
