Editorial: ‘Ukraine fatigue’ is no excuse to slow military assistance
More than a year and a half after Russia invaded Ukraine, Western leaders continue to support that country’s valiant efforts to repel an unprovoked invasion. But the U.S. Congress needs to act swiftly to provide new assistance. It must not be distracted by fatigue among the American public or the ominous opposition of some Republicans in Congress to further assistance.
It’s heartening that NATO officials this week assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that more than $2 billion in additional military assistance will be provided before winter. But NATO countries, including the United States, need to do more, even as they appropriately disclaim any intention to deploy their own troops in the conflict.
Biden is right to assure Ukraine that the U.S. will stand with it for “as long as it takes,” and if it’s possible to expedite military assistance he should do so. That doesn’t mean the U.S. and its allies shouldn’t be cognizant of the possibility that Putin might overreact.
After Congress passed a stopgap funding measure that didn’t include more aid for Ukraine, President Biden rightly argued that Congress must provide more assistance. “The vast majority of both parties — Democrats and Republicans, Senate and House — support helping Ukraine and the brutal aggression that is being thrust upon them by Russia,” Biden said. “Stop playing games, get this done.’”
In August, Biden asked lawmakers to approve an additional $24 billion in aid, but some supporters of Ukraine in Congress reportedly want the president to propose a larger appropriation — perhaps as much as $100 billion — to support Ukraine’s self-defense through the 2024 U.S. presidential election. There is also speculation that Biden might propose linking new aid for Ukraine to additional military assistance to Israel following the vicious attack on that country by Hamas militants.
President Biden is right to be cautious when that nation is still fighting a war against Russian aggression and focus on shoring up other alliances at this week’s meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization members.
The U.S. has directed more than $75 billion in humanitarian, financial and military assistance to Ukraine and approved billions more for other purposes, including protecting other countries in Europe that feel threatened by Russia. In all, Congress has approved $113 billion in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Americans might wonder why such large sums are necessary, given other pressing needs. Some may also ask why, if the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine are so important, the U.S. and its NATO are not committing troops to the fight.
There are good answers to those questions. The assistance the U.S. and its allies have provided does more than help Ukraine defend itself. It puts Vladimir Putin on notice that Russian aggression elsewhere — including against NATO member states — would come at a steep price. Deployment of NATO troops to assist Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, would risk a war between the alliance and Russia.
Ideally this war would end with a negotiated settlement under which Russia would relinquish all Ukrainian territory. A peace agreement conceivably could include some concessions to Russia, but Biden rightly has emphasized that one of the purposes of aid is to put Ukraine “in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.”
The U.S. and its allies must not jeopardize that outcome by softening their support for Ukraine.
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