Ukraine aid must always strike balance

What became of Ukraine’s much-hyped spring offensive? Speculation was rife that once there was a break in winter weather, Ukrainian forces would launch an assault against Russian positions, seeking to take back land that despot Vladimir Putin grabbed after his unprovoked invasion in February 2022.

But as last month came and went, there was little sign that anything was afoot. And now, with May on the horizon, the Ukrainian offensive is still talk.

Why? According to a report in The Washington Post, Ukraine put its plans on ice at the request of the White House. U.S. officials were concerned that a major Ukrainian assault that relied on weaponry provided by the United States could have been seen by Putin as a bridge too far, perhaps even provoking the authoritarian leader into using battlefield tactical nuclear weapons in response.

So Ukraine held back, at least for now. We question the thinking — and the reported U.S. influence on what should be Ukraine’s sovereign defense, even if the U.S. is a major supplier of arms.

Ukraine was invaded by Putin’s army for no legitimate reason. It is fighting to win and shouldn’t be hamstrung by the White House. We’ve not been aiding Ukraine in its fight so that the two nations, one the aggressor and clearly in the wrong, can battle to an endless draw, with bodies piling up as the fighting goes on and on.

A number of Republicans in Congress have been acting as though there’s some moral equivalence between Russia and Ukraine. There isn’t.

The White House is right to be aiding Ukraine, and it’s also wise to be working to ensure the war doesn’t grow into a fight that backs Putin into a corner, leaving the Russian leader with no choice but to do something too terrible to contemplate. It’s not an ideal situation, but war seldom is.