The United States has been one of the most impactful nations in aiding Ukraine in their war with Russia. Beginning with invasions in 2014, Russia and Ukraine’s tension has long been something to keep an eye on. But in February, Russia claimed almost the entire of Ukraine’s eastern land that borders Russia, and officially began their invasion of the country. Luckily, the Ukranians have so far been able to ignore being outnumbered and defend their capital city, Kyiv. This is mainly due to the United States and other countries’ assistance, whether it being aiding Ukraine with supplies or halting any economic affairs with Russia.
As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United States is prepared to send troops to any NATO country that experiences an attack. Ukraine is not a part of NATO, hence why NATO members have only aided them without sending in troops. But Ukraine did request to join NATO in 2008. Then United States President George W. Bush was willing to admit Ukraine into NATO, but with Russian backlash, never ended up joining. This sparks the ethical dilemma on whether or not to send troops to Ukraine despite them not being a NATO member. On one hand, if the US and other NATO members sent troops to Ukraine to assist the Ukrainian soldiers, Russia could likely be defeated rather quickly. One the other hand, though, wars such as the Vietnam War were detrimental to the United States, and this is seemingly the same situation: Russia forcefully spreading its influence on another nation. So that is not something the United States is looking to repeat. As of now, the United States and NATO members will not be sending in troops any time soon.
Still, President Joe Biden has likely been the most vocal world leader on this discontent with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “They will not be able to do any business here,” says Biden, firm on his Russian sanctions. Russia had been exporting lots of products to the US, mainly oil. The recent dramatic rise in gas prices is in part due to the United States no longer importing this oil, but oil is still being imported from Canada and other countries.
Biden commends the Ukrainian soldiers and recognizes their strength. “Thanks to the bravery, the grit and the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people Russia has already failed in its initial war aims,” he says. While many Ukranians are working hard to hold off the Russians, millions of others continue to flee. Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbor and longtime NATO member has supported and taken in lots of these refugees.
According to the Washington Post, only about half of Russians supported the war efforts a month ago, and older generations were far more supportive than younger ones. Seeing the destruction being caused and the global outrage, likely a smaller fraction of Russians are still in support of the war. Hopefully, with the help of the United States’ sanctioning, Ukrainian soldiers remaining heroic, and global support, Putin stops his invasion.