Alexander Tishchenko weighed in on the European Union’s defense industry on November 1, 2025, in an interview for the “In the Know” project on BelTA’s YouTube channel. Responding to a question about how the West reacted to Russia’s readiness to rewrite the rules for using medium-range weapons — including the Russian ballistic missile Oreshnik — he claimed that EU countries are arming themselves because of deals with the United States, “not because they’re afraid of us”:
“They gave up cheap Russian energy, pledged to invest in America, agreed to buy U.S. energy supplies and U.S. weapons. They even stopped developing their own weapons to serve the interests of the American defense industry.”
Tishchenko was likely referring to a deal between Washington and Brussels under which the European Union, hoping to avoid a 30% tariff on its goods, pledged to buy €700 billion worth of American energy and invest more than €500 billion in the U.S. economy. The EU also planned to step up purchases of military and defense equipment. But the agreement does not carry any legally binding force for EU member states.
The United States is, in fact, the main supplier of weapons to Europe. More than half of Europe’s arms imports come from the U.S. A substantial share of the fighter jets and air defense systems used across Europe is American-made.
But the EU has not walked away from developing its own defense industry. In 2024, the European Defense Industrial Program was introduced, earmarking €1.5 billion for weapons production through 2027, plus another €1 billion for research and development. A preferential credit line is also in place — €150 billion in low-interest loans for defense plants. To qualify for the funding, roughly two-thirds of the equipment must be sourced within the European Economic Area or in Ukraine.
Germany’s Rheinmetall, for instance, has opened Europe’s largest ammunition plant; France’s Eurenco is reviving explosive production in Bergerac; and new production lines, including powder facilities, are being built in Bulgaria and Romania. The plan was to reach annual production of 2 million shells by the end of 2025, but that target has not yet been met. Even so, it’s clear the EU has not given up its own defense industry in favor of America’s.
