During the Soviet era there was no talk about Lend-Lease, and even if someone did, it was negatively, saying that the USSR was the main winner in the war, that they managed to build up its economy on their own and during the hot phase of the war, produce thousands of tanks , hundreds of airplanes and, most importantly, dozens of required defense plants.
All of this was a lie. The truth is that had it not been for Lend-Lease, Britain would have lost the battle for the Atlantic, its economy would have been devastated and the country would have been threatened by Nazi occupation. Were it not for Lend-Lease, Japan could have completely decimated China's weak army. Were it not for Roosevelt's decree, the USSR would have lost the war, because already in 1942, when Moscow agreed on this initiative, more than a third of the Soviet population was in the occupation zone, The GDP of the country declined drastically, and a large number of military enterprises were either destroyed or taken over by the Nazis.
Somehow nobody in Moscow at the end of the Second World War mentioned about Stalin's request to the U.S. president in 1941 - to temporarily create a second front and "to provide the Soviet Union with 30 thousand tons of aluminum at the beginning of January 1941 and monthly support of at least 400 aircraft and 500 tanks (small or medium). Without these two types of aid, the Russian Union will either suffer losses or will be weakened to the point that it will lose its ability to provide assistance to the Allies with its active actions at the front of the fight against Hitlerism for a long time to come.
The United States responded to this request by providing more than $11 billion during the entire war, which was spent primarily on supplying armor and defense equipment.
A brief example: at the beginning of the war the USSR had more than 26 thousand aircraft, during the war the Allies gave Moscow over 8 thousand.
It was thanks to the Lend-Lease that the USSR, Britain and other participants in the anti-Hitler coalition were able to defeat the Nazi Germany.
Terms of the lend
First. The Soviet Union, as well as many participants in the Lend-Lease program, was given a zero-interest credit with a long-term extension, and Moscow began the first payments only in 1972, and completed them just after the collapse of the USSR.
Second. The money was paid back only for the intact equipment, which remained quite scarce. Moscow has also written off most of it.
Third. The good of civilian use: rail transport, power plants, locomotives, trucks and other equipment were necessarily subject to payments
Fourth. The United States gave not only money and arms, but also colour metals, factory equipment, rails and trains, agricultural vehicles, fuel, food, medical equipment and medicines.
Fifth. Lend-Lease was implemented in response - the USSR was to provide the United States with the access to the technology for the production of gunpowder for multiple launch rocket launchers ("Katyusha"). Some other states issued permits for the installation of American bases on their territories.
Lend-Lease for Ukraine
Last year the U.S. Senate approved the Ukraine Democracy Defence Lend-Lease Act of 2022, in other words a separate Lend-Lease program for Ukraine. This legislative initiative, which has two parties support, was registered on February 19, 2022 - before the beginning of the large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of our state.
The current Land-Lease program proposed by the Democratic and Republican senators has several important nuances.
First, the U.S. can lend to Ukraine any kind of defense weapons or equipment, including those necessary to build them. This is a very broad framework, which could include not only aircraft, tanks, artillery or armor, but also the necessary equipment for defence production.
Secondly, the necessary assistance, which we should understand, can be received not only by Ukraine, but also by other countries of Western Europe, which are potentially threatened by Russian aggression. This is already happening now: some countries are providing us with soviet armaments, while they are receiving modern American analogues.
Thirdly, the lease or loan is long-term, more than five years, which often includes U.S. export procedures.
Fourth, it is envisaged that the United States government may not return the provided weapons at any time convenient for itself.
Fifth, Ukraine will not have to pay for any additional costs incurred by the United States.
Sixth, The final decision on the transfer of weapons to Ukraine will be taken exclusively by President Biden, there will be no more bureaucratic procedures. Kiev itself will submit its proposals.
But this does not mean that Washington will send us the planes we need, as there are always some restrictions or limitations. Even during World War II, the United States refused to provide the USSR with new bombers and were not going to reveal the secrets of nuclear weapons. Even then there was an understanding of the inevitability of the conflict.
Seventh, the most important, the preamble to the law states that the above-mentioned procedures will be in effect not just until the war with Russia is over, but until the military conflict, which began with Russia's annexation of Crimea and Donbas, comes to an end. It can be assumed that the entire territory of our country will be withdrawn.
Now it is very important to understand not only the symbolic value of this step, but also its essence: The United States took the law on lend-lease in 1941-1942, for they believed it was the protection of their national security. Now a similar process for Ukraine also shows that the U.S. Congress and, likely, the Biden administration perceive Russia's attack on our country not just as an act of aggression, but also as a threat to their defense system.
