Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is global concern
Russia’s war against Ukraine has entered its second year of massive destruction and unspeakable crimes against humanity, most prominently, children. The world is appalled at the atrocities committed by the Russian military and its mercenary force, composed mainly of prison inmates set free to do the dirty work.
European order has been destabilized and the threat of the conflict extending beyond the Ukrainian border is real. Europe is scared.
Europe is central to U.S. global leadership. It is home to the United States’ strongest political and military alliance, NATO. Its 28 European countries (plus the U.S. and Canada) form a formidable collective security system protecting each other’s backyard. An attack on one is an attack on all.
Europe (including Great
Britain) also houses four of the top 10 economies in the world. Its European Union not only provides a regional political steadying forum, but also a powerful economic block of 28 countries with which the U.S. has, according to the European Union, “the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and (together) enjoy the most integrated economic relationship in the world.”
As Europe shines, so does the U.S. as an influencer and overseer of world order.
Ukraine seeks to align itself with Europe. Europe welcomes it, and for good reasons. Reportedly, Ukraine is one of the world’s top agricultural producers and exporters.
A Ukraine dominated by Russia serves no good purpose to the world.
So, describing this war as simply a “territorial dispute” is dangerously naïve and myopic.
Similarly, Ukraine is not a distraction from a larger struggle with China as U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO., believes. China’s threat to U.S. interests is not just in the Indo-pacific area; it’s a global one.
China has held joint military exercises with Russia and has also conducted naval drills with Iran in the Gulf of Oman. Most recently, China scored a diplomatic victory brokering an agreement that restored diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia after a seven-year hiatus.
China is beginning to be present everywhere we look.
And, President Xi Jinping tells the world why: “No single country should dictate the international order.”
He shares with Vladimir Putin a disdain for U.S. preeminence in global affairs. Their goal is to undermine the U.S. at every opportunity.
They boast about a “no limits friendship,” whose endlessness poses a threatening dilemma for the U.S. and allies, especially, as it relates to Ukraine. The prospect of China supplying lethal weaponry to Russia now is utterly disquieting.
Ukraine is paying a devastating price for wanting to be “European.” Putin wants it absorbed into his imperial dream and Xi seems to entertain the concept, by his inaction.
In this context, Ukraine is central to the U.S. global deterrence strategy, which prioritizes threats from China in the Indo-pacific region and from Russia in Europe, over all else.
Support of Ukraine is critical to maintaining their ambitions and to reassure Europe and the free world of the United States’ commitment to world order.
Supporting Russia and its cruelty is tantamount to betraying the most basic tenets of human decency.
Russia must not prevail.