National Will and Allyship: The Necessary Ingredients for Victory in Ukraine
After two years of bloody fighting against Vladimir Putin’s corrupt regime, Ukraine finds itself at an inflection point. It is also a turning point for democracy as we know it. Long-term peace cannot be sustained by carving up a sovereign nation because of allies’ weariness. Wavering support from some of Ukraine’s allies, petty border disputes with its neighbors, and most important, the United States’ political indecision threaten to demolish everything that has been accomplished to date. Democracy could find itself in an even worse situation if we stop now and lose our way, our resolve, and our core value of national self-determination. Putin intends to push further into Ukraine and is watching our every move, adjusting his strategy to match our dysfunction. His resolve grows stronger as our memory becomes shorter.
US support is either being held hostage by near-sighted politicians or undercut by internal governmental inefficiency. Worse is the fact that we have been manipulated the entire time by disinformation and artificial chaos created by our adversaries.
The United States was built on the indispensable foundation of liberty, but also with the aid of our allies who also understood what was at risk. What if the French had decided to give up the fight after eight years and focused on insular matters? An all-powerful but mad George III would have ruled the world, and our founders would likely have been hanged as traitors and terrorists.
Two centuries later, Ukraine finds itself in a similar situation. Fighting for its freedom and that of the Western world, a nation that was essentially a Soviet colony thirty-odd years ago has destroyed approximately fifty percent of the Russian empire’s armed forces in just two years. This accomplishment alone, without the loss of a single American serviceman or woman, must be recognized, but it can as easily be lost if we abandon our national values. What makes this war different from any other conflict since World War II is a collective understanding from within Ukraine that this is larger than an internal or regional dispute. The press is quick to focus on Ukraine’s internal disputes and fissures, but Ukraine remains united and committed to victory. The courage of Ukrainian patriots is an ingredient essential to that achievement, succinctly described by combat medic Oleksandr Halai: “Despite difficulties, Ukrainians will not give up and will not bend! No matter how hard it is, we will all stand until the end! No matter how hard it is to see and understand that there are problems, we are the only ones today who will be able to stop such aggression.”
While it is impossible to predict what British global hegemony would have brought if France had withdrawn its support during the American Revolution, it is not difficult to foresee what might follow a Russian victory in Ukraine. Current NATO members Hungary and Slovakia probably would withdraw from the alliance, Putin’s tanks would pressure the fragile Balkan and Baltic republics, and a new Iron Curtain would loom over Europe again. Ukraine is standing against all these threats that menace us as well. It is essential that we—the traditional Arsenal of Democracy—remember our principles and supply everything required for victory.