Shifting the Paradigm: Western Military Aid and the Rise of Ukraine’s Indigenous Defense Industry
One of the most consequential transformations in the architecture of post-2022 Western military assistance has not occurred on the battlefield, but within the industrial policy frameworks of allied support to Ukraine. As the war evolves into a long-duration conflict, the logic of emergency resupply—based on the depletion of allied stockpiles—is proving unsustainable both politically and operationally. In its place emerges a new paradigm: enabling Ukraine to become a sovereign defense producer. This shift reflects broader geopolitical and strategic recalibrations, where resilience and autonomy are redefined not only in territorial or tactical terms, but also in terms of productive capacity. In this context, the future of military assistance is no longer measured solely by the quantity of arms transferred, but by the institutionalization of Ukraine as an integrated, capable node within the Euro-Atlantic defense ecosystem.