I am firmly against most, if not all military aid the United States does at an international level, and not in a lame libertarian way. The Global American Empire spreads its wealth and influence around the world in the name of various liberal causes, and very seldom does this influence have any positive effect for the American people. The same holds for our generous giving to Ukraine: it has done nothing to help Americans and has only perpetuated the war, contributing to the deaths of almost half a million people
I am against this war. As a Christian, I am vehemently opposed to seeing soldiers on both sides suffer casualties in a conflict that could have been avoided. It is easy for us here in America to look at the war and encourage Ukrainians to keep fighting. The media has spun a great narrative about this calamity: the fledgling democracy against the evil oligarchy; Zylenskyy, a comedian-turned-politician, against Putin, the former KGB spy. This sanitized version of reality makes excellent material for the movies, but this is real life. We can give money and missiles to Ukraine for a long time but, at the end of the day, wars are won by men, and in this respect Russia has an almost three to one advantage on the battlefield.
The U.S. has contributed more to the Ukrainian war effort than any other country. Out of the roughly $150 billion that has been sent in the form of aid and weapons, the US has given over half: $77 billion [1]. This is a drop in the bucket in terms of our annual spending, but in the words of a wise man, “It’s not about the money it’s about sending a message.” What message are we sending to our people, and to the world, by siphoning money to a corrupt country at war with a declining power like Russia? The government has failed to provide our people with a secure border, but its coffers are deep enough to proliferate fighting in a region many Americans can’t even point to on a map? Seriously? If America stopped sending aid, the war could be over in a matter of weeks; President Zelenksyy stated this himself during his trip to Washington in September [2].
In the likely event of a Russian victory, little will change for Americans. For those in Eastern Europe however, there will be a great sigh of relief. Fathers and sons will return home; mothers will no longer have to fear for their families; Luhansk and Donetsk—the contested regions that are predominantly Russian-speaking—will be ceded back to Russia. This is not ideal for Ukraine but it will likely be a part of Russia’s terms of surrender. It is not likely that Ukraine will be fully absorbed into Russia as many people in the West fear; given the time and resources the Russians have poured into this campaign it makes little sense for them to occupy the country and periodically put down rebellions and civil unrest. Ultimately, I can not foresee President Zelenskyy remaining in control of Ukraine—I pray no harm comes to him but one way or another he will probably be forced to step down and a pro-Russian leader will be installed. The country will revert to how it was before 2014 with Ukraine as a buffer between NATO and Russia.
I am still not sure why we are financing the slaughter in Ukraine. The official fact sheet from the United States government published in February 2023 states that we are supporting Ukraine against the “unjust” assault by Russia [3]. The United State’s justification fails to consider the fact that President Zelenskyy continued to pursue NATO membership, which Russia claims to be a direct threat to their national security. NATO was founded in opposition to the Soviet Union and has remained hostile to Russia up to the present day; if Ukraine had gone through with its membership, it would mean Russia would be surrounded by adversaries (excluding Belarus). Even if we assume that Russia had no rational reason for invading, and that President Putin is the deranged sociopath the media portrays him to be, when the bodies are piled this high—some 190,000 dead soldiers in total [4]— it is prudent for Ukraine and her western backers to sue for peace. If President Zelenskyy is really adamant about continuing the fight, the U.S. will have to step up and stop sending aid.
Russia and her people are not inherently evil; they do not have to be our eternal enemy. This may come as a shock to those stuck in the Neocon matrix, but it's not the 1960s anymore. Russia is not bent on spreading atheist-communism across the globe. America has been doing fine in that regard for decades. In the same vein, Ukraine is not a paragon of virtue and democracy, this notion was concocted as soon as the war broke out and is utterly false. No actor in this affair is completely blameless—no leader, be it President Zelenskyy or President Putin is all good or all bad—but the time for pointing fingers is done. Making sweeping moral claims and painting with a broad brush is a foolish exercise: it is this mindset that led us into World War I, Vietnam, and other conflicts that America need not have entered. In the name of peace, in the name of humanity, the U.S. government must stop sending aid to Ukraine and let this war come to an end.
End Notes
[1] Christopher, Wolf, “Countries That Have Sent the Most Aid to Ukraine,” U.S. News & World Reports, February 24, 2023, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2023-02-24/these-countries-have-sent-the-most-aid-to-ukraine.
[2]Ariana Figueroa and Samantha Dietel, “‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine,” Colorado Newsline, September 22, 2023, https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/09/22/aid-war-zelenskyy-asks-congress-to-help-ukraine/.
[3] The White House, “FACT SHEET: One Year of Supporting Ukraine,” February 21, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/02/21/fact-sheet-one-year-of-supporting-ukraine/.
[4] Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Eric Schmitt, and Julian E. Barnes. “Troop Deaths and Injuries in Ukraine War Near 500,000, U.S. Officials Say” The New York Times, August 18, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/us/politics/ukraine-russia-war-casualties.html#:~:text=The%20number%20includes%20as%20many,and%20100%2C000%20to%20120%2C000%20wounded.