Do Not Forget Ukraine
With everything that has been going on with the US elections and the battle for foreign aid long since over, what is happening in Ukraine has become overlooked.
Last week, Ukraine succeeded in pushing the last of Russia's warships out of the Black Sea. Ukraine achieved this without having a Navy of its own, instead relying on drones and anti-ship missiles. After suffering heavy naval losses last year, Russia pulled its fleet further back, but Ukraine responded by creating longer-range drones to continue its attacks.
It isn’t just Navy forces where Russia is experiencing heavy losses. Russia has lost as many as 8,000 tanks, forcing them to pull older, outdated models out of storage to keep their war efforts going.
Russia also lost:
over 500,000 troops
16,000 combat vehicles
almost 16,000 artillery
over 350 aircraft
Due to its massive military spending and steep sanctions from the US and the West, the Russian economy is a house of cards. Inflation is just below 9%, and the nation is considering economic "shock therapy," which involves raising interest rates to 20% for a short time to get the economy back in order. Over 800,000 Russians, many of them skilled workers with tech and science backgrounds, have fled the nation.
The only reason Russia can even continue its war is due to support from Iran, North Korea, and China, which are all providing different military equipment, including drones, missiles, and technical components that Russia cannot easily obtain due to sanctions.
Republicans and Trump have campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine by either cutting off aid to Ukraine, which would allow Russia to take more land and kill more people or by trying to force Ukraine into a peace agreement that would give Russia at least some of Ukraine’s territory.
Biden, Democrats, and NATO all want to give Ukraine everything it needs to end the war, push Russia out of its country, and retain all of its land. After that, Ukraine could join NATO, providing them increased protection from Russia moving forward.
Given that Putin is a tyrant who invaded Ukraine unprovoked, abducted children, deliberately attacked civilians, and caused ecological damage by destroying dams, along with the fact that Russia is America’s enemy and is being supported by our other enemies, it makes no sense to capitulate to Putin’s desires particularly when Russia is on the verge of collapse due to this failing war.
The war in Ukraine has caused more nations to join NATO, and additional countries have shown interest or have already made their requests to join. US standing and alliances are stronger, but the relationship between Putin and Xi Jinping is reportedly strained.
There are moral, strategic, and economic reasons to continue to defend Ukraine against Putin’s war crime-filled assault. Democrats understand this and have stood by Ukraine every step of the way. Republicans have obstructed aid to Ukraine and even repeated Putin’s propaganda on the House floor.
Trump cannot be allowed back into the White House, not only for the best interests of America’s democracy but for the entire world and the never-ending fight against tyranny.