Okay, But Why Should We Support Ukraine?
Russia invaded Ukraine back in February of 2022, which means the war has been going on for over three years now. The United States has supported democracy in Ukraine ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, but our aid — and democracy itself — is less certain than ever with Donald Trump in the White House
You may be asking yourself, “Do we support Ukraine or not? Should the U.S. be involved at all?” Or maybe even, “Is this something we should be investing our resources in given all the problems we have here at home?”
We’re here to help answer these questions. And we’re breaking it down into two categories: the humanitarian crisis and our national security.
Humanitarian Reasons To Support Ukraine
The Ukrainian People’s Republic formed in 1917, but almost immediately got pulled into the First and Second World Wars, after which it became part of the Soviet Union. That lasted for about fifty years until the USSR collapsed in 1991. At that point, Ukraine became an independent nation again and fully embraced democracy.
But ever since coming to power in 2000, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been determined to regain control of Ukraine. In 2014, Russia seized control of the Crimean Peninsula, which is part of Ukraine. And then, in 2022, Russian troops invaded, marching on major cities like the capital of Kyiv. It’s hard to know exactly how many Ukrainians have died since Russia’s invasion, but it’s at least 40,000 soldiers and as many as 100,000 civilians.
Those aren’t just numbers. Those are people. People like a six-year-old girl who was killed by Russian bombs in Mariupol. She died in her unicorn pajamas. Or teachers who were killed in the school where they worked. The director of the school called them his best teachers. Or the 17 people who died in a bombing at a maternity hospital, including women, children, and doctors. Or Jimmy Hill, an American teacher who was killed in Chernihiv, where he was helping his partner Iryna get into a special hospital to treat her MS.
This is the human cost of Russia’s war. Ordinary people who were just trying to live their lives, cut short by a war they didn’t choose. If something like this were to happen on American soil, wouldn’t we want people in other countries standing up for our right to simply live our lives and raise our children in peace?
National Security Reasons to Support Ukraine
In addition to the humanitarian aspect of this war, let’s also consider how this affects our national security. It might surprise you to learn that despite the extreme polarization we are witnessing in our country right now, most Democrats and Republicans actually agree about the risks of not supporting Ukraine. Politicians from both parties have expressed grave concerns about the threat posed by Vladimir Putin, and are in agreement that no good will come of Putin being permitted to take control of Ukraine.
Why do American politicians find this so concerning? Putin is an authoritarian who views Russia as a great world power that has the right to control the countries around it. He doesn’t want bordering countries to become more Westernized and democratic because for Putin, that’s a threat to Russia. If Putin is able to control Russia and surrounding countries, it seems quite likely that what he is doing is trying to rebuild the Soviet Union, which could potentially lead to another Cold War. The last thing any of us want again is to live under the constant threat of nuclear war.
And also, what happens in Ukraine could be a sign of things to come. If the United States sits back and allows Putin to invade and take over a democratic country, what’s to stop him from invading other countries? What message does that send to our European allies? And what message does it send to other world leaders who might be just waiting for the right moment to expand their own borders? And this brings us right back to humanitarian concerns. If we allow this to happen, millions of innocent people will suffer.
Having the support of the United States carries a lot of weight globally. And it will have a huge impact on the outcome of this war. It’s important that we stand with our democratic allies, and do what we can to protect innocent civilians, both at home and abroad. Supporting Ukraine serves both of those purposes.