Support for Ukraine is an international balancing act

The ongoing saga of the Russian invasion of Ukraine leaves plenty of room for mixed feelings. There’s widespread agreement that we do not want to commit American troops — “boots on the ground,” in popular parlance — but there’s also a growing feeling that we’re not doing enough.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, certainly falls in the latter camp. In a speech to his nation, Zelensky praised the “determination, heroism and firmness” of Ukrainians and criticized Western countries that had refused to send jets and tanks to Ukraine.

Zelensky’s position is understandable. His nation faces an existential threat. His people are dying. More of his country is destroyed every day.

But Western leaders have to look at a bigger picture.

U.S. President Joe Biden hasn’t minced words about the situation. In a speech in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday, he spoke for the nations of the NATO alliance, saying, “We stand with you, period.”

Biden and our allies have, indeed, done much to exact a price from Russia for its international lawlessness.

After doing little when Vladimir Putin stole Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the allies — moved, perhaps by the brutality of the invasion — have levied economic sanctions that hit Russia where it hurts. The ruble, Russia’s currency, has lost much of its value, as have Russian stocks. Even Putin has acknowledged that the economic damage will be costly to his nation.

We think Putin underestimated the response, just as he underestimated the ability of Ukranians to resist.

And that’s another thing we should talk about.

The Ukrainians have been magnificent. We can’t let their heroism be a salve for our own guilt over not helping them enough, though. We need to continue to do what we can to help them, from our grassroots up to the top levels of our government.

Zelensky isn’t going to get the “no-fly” zone he has asked for. NATO jets cannot shoot down Russian aircraft or attack missile sites inside Russia without risking an enormous escalation of the war.

Not many think the current conflict will lead to World War III, but most people didn’t see the first two such wars coming, either.

We can and should increase the amount of armament we provide to Ukraine to defend itself, though. Anti-tank and antiaircraft weapons have been effective in slowing the Russian advance.

We don’t believe all the weapons we can ship would help Ukraine stop a determined Russia, but there are signs Russian determination may be waning. We need to do all we can to push that process along.

At some point, the West needs to address what have properly been called war crimes.

Stymied in military confrontations, Russia has taken to bombing civilian targets in an attempt to weaken the will of Ukrainians. The tactic has caused much suffering, though it appears not to be affecting Ukrainian resolve.

Biden has called Putin “a butcher,” and said, “I think he is a war criminal.”

Short of the aforementioned World War III and the defeat of Russia, it seems unlikely Vladimir Putin and his minions will ever stand as defendants at the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands. But the world must still recognize war crimes for what they are, and ostracize Russia from the international community as long as Putin and those who support him remain in power.