U.S. should emphasize peace, not more war, in Ukraine

As the war in Ukraine drags on, casualties continue to mount, among both armies and especially among the Ukrainian civilian population whose homes and infrastructure are also being destroyed. One would think most would want it to end, but instead many, including our own country, are egging it on.

It is almost akin to a civil war in some respects. Ukraine was part of Russia for almost 300 years before the communist revolution. Then for another 70 years it was a partner of Russia in the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union break up, Ukraine has been wooed for membership by both the EU and NATO, neither of which are particularly friendly toward Russia. With over 1,400 miles of shared border, this made the paranoid despotic leader of Russia more and more nervous and was likely a contributing factor to Russia’s invasion.

Some try to depict the conflict as a struggle between democracy and autocracy. Russia is an autocracy, but describing Ukraine as a democracy is quite a reach. Since its departure from the Soviet Union, Ukrainian politics have been rife with corruption, assassinations and partisan prosecutions. They’ve experienced parliamentary fist fights, scandals and unlawful constitutional tinkering. Ukraine’s recent history is that of a deeply troubled state.

The ongoing destruction and loss of lives from the Russian invasion cannot be ignored, but the emphasis should be on stopping the war by bringing the two warring parties to the peace table. Providing billions and billions of dollars worth of military equipment to enable Ukraine to fight on when in truth its government is not that much different from Russia’s is not the answer to stopping the death and devastation. And continuing to poke the Russian bear given the very real risk of a nuclear confrontation is insane.