House of Hegemony Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Who is the war machine in today's world? What Moscow and Washington did on Monday could offer clues.   

Although Russia is in a war with Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin did not mention "Ukraine" once during his speech at the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. 

He stressed Russia's security concerns but avoided inflammatory remarks that could fuel any dangerous escalation of the situation. In contrast, the Joe Biden administration on Monday made no secret of its intention to fan the flames and prolong the conflict. It urged the Congress to quickly approve a $33 billion supplemental aid bill for Ukraine before the Pentagon runs out of funds to send weapons from its stockpiles to the war-torn country by the third week of May, while at the same time, President Biden signed into law a lend-lease act that will expedite the process of sending military aid to Ukraine. 

It's unknown whether the Congress will approve it, but the $33 billion Biden is asking for  dwarfs the $22.5 billion he is requesting from the Congress for the COVID-19 response. More ridiculously, as the COVID-19 cases rise in the US, and it's predicted the US could potentially see 100 million COVID-19 infections this fall and winter,  Biden, in a statement on Monday, called on the Congress to move the Ukraine aid first, then move to pass additional funding to tackle the COVID-19. 

The US doesn't care about American lives, nor will it take lives of Ukrainians into account. The Biden administration has prioritized military aid to Ukraine because Washington is fighting a proxy war against Russia by supplying military aid to Ukraine. The US is hoping to use the Russia-Ukraine conflict to weaken Russia. To this end, it has been ratcheting up its shipments of weapons, ammunition, body armor, and other equipment to Ukraine to prolong the conflict. 

There is no free lunch in the world. More US weapons have caused more Ukrainians to die. Worse, the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022, which was signed into law by Biden, would drag Ukraine into a debt trap, turning the war-torn country into a new colony of the US.  The act allows the US to use the military lend-lease program to speed up the transfer of weapons, military equipment, medicine and food to Ukraine. It is anticipated that the recipient country will have to pay later.

"It will become a serious shackle on Ukraine. Ukraine will have to pay both the principal and interest for the various weapons and equipment it is to receive from the US in the future. The US is a businessman. It won't do business that will bring losses to itself," military expert Song Zhongping commented.  

The lend-lease program is not a cheap one, and America's evil intention is obvious. Support Ukraine to fight to the last drop of Ukrainian blood by providing them so-called military aid, then ask future generations of Ukrainians to pay for all the ammunition, equipment and food that the US will have provided. 

The lend-lease act updates a 1941 law the US used to help its allies during World War II (WWII). Under lend-lease, Britain received weapons from the US during WWII. The payments weren't completed until 2006, 61 years after the end of WWII. 

Imagine how the lend-lease program will subject Ukraine to the influence of the US in future decades. 

"The US is the largest beneficiary of a protracted war in Ukraine. The country's military-industrial complex has made a considerable sum of money from conflicts. The biggest loser will be Ukraine and its people," Song said, emphasizing that Ukraine will become more fragmented, be dragged into a quagmire of poverty, backwardness and debt with the US continuously pouring in more weapons and thwarting efforts for a peaceful resolution. The US is a vampire who makes money from chaos and war. Ukrainians' blood will be sucked by the US not only now, but also after the war is over.