I don’t approve of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, it’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and its ongoing war on Ukraine (then again, per usual, nobody asked me). Now, 3 years later, after the US has given more than $128 billion to support Ukraine’s defense, I find myself thinking: “This is not my war.”
Ukraine shares a 1200 mile land border with Russia. It was ruled by Russia (and then later the Soviet Union) from the 17th century until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Putin has made it clear that he wants to rebuild the Russian empire, which would include taking control of Ukraine once again. Russia has more wealth, more people and a larger military than Ukraine. It also has nuclear weapons.
When I look at a map of Europe and Asia, it’s obvious that Ukraine plays a strategic geographic role for Western Europe. It is located between Western European nations, the Balkan states and the Russian border. If Ukraine falls under Russian control, that “safety zone” become much smaller with the Russian border moving much closer to EU. Since the end of WWII, this is the first large scale Russian invasion and war against a European nation.
It’s a big deal – especially for Ukraine and the many other European democracies which are even smaller and less capable of defending themselves against a Russian invasion.
It seems unlikely that Ukraine can win this battle. So far, they’ve been able to defend themselves only with massive contributions of money, arms and support from the US (and EU nations). Russia has proximity, size and funding to win an extended war.
The US has been directly involved in multiple extended wars for most of my life including Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and have also funded/supported conflicts around the globe during the same time. From my limited understanding, many appear to have resulted in a significant loss of life, money and resources without achieving the objectives the US wanted.
So even though I feel badly for Ukraine, I’m not sure the US should continue to fund Ukraine in another war that the US seems unlikely to win.
We have plenty of problems right here in the US that need to be addressed – a housing shortage, a growing national debt, a self-cause financial crisis due to Trump’s tariffs, an health insurance/health care catastrophe, a homeless problem and many other domestic issues. I believe our government should focus on fixing some of these issues.
I can understand why citizens in the EU would feel differently. If I was in their geographic and military position, I’d want full US support against Russia.
But based on Trump’s stated unwillingness to continue supporting Ukraine and his antagonism toward Zelenskky, I suspect the US will be withdrawing US support soon. The EU is, understandably, scrambling to figure out what they will do to defend and fund Ukraine without the US.
The situation sucks.
I wish that life was fair. I wish that people got what they deserved.
But the sad truth is that I don’t believe either is true.