Are We Weaker than Ukrainians in the West? – Nicholas Kristof

Opinions from The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof

'We will beat you Ukrainians until you love Russia,' said a Russian investigator to a torture survivor I spoke with in Ukraine before he beat and raped her. This seems like a pretty good summary of Vladimir Putin's strategy.

It does not work in Ukraine. There, Putin's atrocities seem to strengthen their desire to resist. This brave woman triumphed over her interrogators, though at the cost of terrible personal losses and torment.

But I worry that we in the West are made of softer material. Some of the most important decisions that the U.S. will make in the coming months involve the level of support we provide to Ukraine. I have received objections from some readers who believe President Joe Biden is making a terrible mistake in resolutely helping Ukraine resist Russia.

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A woman named Nancy criticized me on Facebook, saying I am more concerned about protecting Ukraine’s border than our own. She argued that we should focus on our problems, not on Ukraine's.

'We are in over our heads in debt but are funding a war we shouldn’t be involved in. Enough is enough,' she wrote.

Polls show that American support for aid to Ukraine remains strong, but it is weakening, especially among Republicans

Polls show that American support for aid to Ukraine remains strong, but it is weakening, especially among Republicans. Nearly half of Americans want the U.S. to push Ukraine 'to peace as soon as possible,' even if it means losing territory. This conclusion should warm Putin's heart.

Western fatigue over supporting Ukraine may continue to grow in the coming months as people tire of high energy prices and, in some European countries, possible power outages.

So let me explain to Nancy and others why we must continue supplying weapons to Ukraine.

We are holding a jacket over Ukraine while it sacrifices lives and infrastructure for our benefit, downplaying Russia's military threat to NATO and Western Europe, and thus to the U.S.

A fundamental misconception among many Republicans in Congress is that we are doing Ukraine a favor by sending it arms. This is not the case. We are holding a jacket over Ukraine while it sacrifices lives and infrastructure for our benefit, downplaying Russia's military threat to NATO and Western Europe, and therefore to us, the U.S.

'They are doing us a favor. They are fighting our fight. The fight in Ukraine is a struggle for the future of the international community,' said Wesley Clark, a retired American general and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

If the war ends favorably for Russia, he argues, the world will be less safe for Americans. One lesson that the world will learn is the paramount importance of possessing nuclear weapons, as Ukraine was invaded after it gave up its nuclear arsenal in the 1990s, and Russia's nuclear warheads today prevent a stronger Western military response.

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'If Ukraine falls, there will definitely be a wave of nuclear weapons proliferation,' warns Clark.

For years, military strategists feared Russia's invasion of Estonia, which would challenge NATO and cost American soldiers' lives. Ukrainians are weakening Russia's forces to reduce this risk.

In a broader sense, perhaps the greatest threat to world peace in the coming decade is the risk of conflict in the Taiwan Strait escalating into war between the U.S. and China. To mitigate this danger, we must help Taiwan bolster its deterrent capability. But perhaps the simplest way to reduce the likelihood of aggressive actions by Xi Jinping is to unite against Russia's invasion. If the West stumbles and allows Putin to win in Ukraine, Xi will feel more confident that he can win in Taiwan.

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Putin has been a destabilizing and brutal bully for many years - from Chechnya to Syria, from Georgia to Moldova. Partly due to the fact that the world did not want to confront him, and partly because he has powerful military strength, which Ukraine is now breaking. Beyond oil and gas, the Russian economy is not significant.

'Putin and Russia are weak. Russia is a poor country, the world's oil appendage, a gas station,' said Viktor Yushchenko, former president of Ukraine, who challenged Russia and was then poisoned and mutilated.

The world owes Ukraine for its willingness to finally stand up to Putin

The world owes Ukraine for its willingness to finally stand up to Putin. In any case, I would like the Biden administration to carefully increase the arms supplies it provides to Ukraine. Perhaps the best way to end the war is to ensure that Putin considers its cost no longer worth it.

I do not want to say that everyone who supports peace negotiations is cowardly, exhausted, or short-sighted. General Mark Milley and other Pentagon officials are understandably concerned that the conflict in Ukraine could spiral out of control and escalate into a nuclear war. This is a legitimate concern, and it is always useful to peer into the fog of war for an exit. But bowing to nuclear blackmail and rewarding invasion would create its own risks for many years to come. These dangers ultimately seem greater than the risks of maintaining the current course.

In advocating for the West to continue supporting Ukraine, I emphasize that this is in our national interest. Not only are interests at stake, but also values, as there is a moral question.

When one nation invades a neighboring country and commits murder, robbery, and rape, when it steals thousands of children, when it turns electric grids to smoke to make civilians freeze in winter - in such a storm of war crimes, neutrality is not a priority.

Let’s not allow Russia to beat out the Ukrainians from us. The world could use a backbone transplant from the brave Ukrainians.

Translation by Gazeta.ua