THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
As Ukraine enters a third year of war since Russia's full-scale invasion, it's more important than ever to support the Ukrainian people in their ongoing fight for freedom.
The war, far from being a distant conflict, affects people around the world. The Russian government's behavior — from abusing global food and energy markets to violating Ukraine's sovereignty — directly attacks the freedom and democracy underpinning global security.
People who care about their own security and the global system that protects everyone should support Ukraine's fight for freedom. After all, the Kremlin's war against Ukraine is not a one-off event.
From backing separatists in Moldova to military interventions in Chechnya and Georgia and its attempted annexation of Crimea, Russia has systematically worked to exert influence and control in neighboring countries and territories.
"If Putin takes Ukraine, he won't stop there," US. President Joe Biden recently warned, speaking from the White House. "He's going to keep going. He's made that pretty clear."
Democracy matters, and the values of freedom and independence do not defend themselves.
Russia shows the world what authoritarianism looks like: government opponents murdered, protesters arrested, media outlets shut down. Stopping its war against Ukraine is vital.
As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted in May 2023, "Ukraine is on the front line of the defense of everything we Europeans cherish: our liberty, our democracy, our freedom of thought and of speech."
The reality is the Kremlin has not negotiated in good faith, nor will it.
After Russia's initial invasion in 2014, the two sides met under the Minsk Agreements to end the fighting. During the negotiations, Ukraine upheld its commitments while Russia used the time to prepare for its larger invasion.
Before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine and its partners undertook intense diplomatic efforts with Russia to prevent escalation and dissuade Putin from further violence.
Ukraine carried out 200 rounds of meetings with Russia between 2014 and 2022, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
"We agreed on, I think, 20 cease-fires with them," said Kuleba, speaking to Foreign Affairs in January. "All of them failed. … They were all broken by Russia."
Russia already said it would respect Ukraine's borders — and broke its word.
Before Putin started annexing its territory and killing Ukrainian people in 2014, Ukraine already had a security guarantee from Russia.
Contrary to Putin's absurd assertions about Russia's historical claims on Ukraine, Moscow already recognized Ukraine's sovereignty in 1991, when Ukraine voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union. Russia further guaranteed Ukrainians' security in 1994 as part of a deal that included Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons.
Those assurances were not worth much, which is why Ukrainian officials do not want a cease-fire now.
"Instead of ending the war, a cease-fire would simply pause the fighting until Russia is ready to make another push inland," Kuleba said. "If the front line were frozen now, there is no reason to believe that Russia would not use such a respite to plan a more brutal attack in a few years."
Russia's invasion affects people's everyday lives all over the world.
The ongoing attacks on Ukraine's fields, grain storage facilities and ports have dramatically disrupted global food markets, making access to food more difficult for millions of people.
What's more, because Russia uses energy as a weapon of war — depriving vulnerable communities of heat in winter — the war has driven up oil prices around the world.
Ukraine is a democratic, independent and sovereign nation. The world's continued support helps it remain so.
Ukraine has already made progress. It has taken back more than 50% of the territory illegally seized by Russia in early 2022 and has broken the Russian blockade in the Black Sea, imposing severe costs on the Russian navy.
Ongoing aid is keeping Ukraine in the fight. Humanitarian support such as food, fuel and medicine keeps Ukrainians alive. Economic aid pays the salaries of schoolteachers and officials and enables businesses to stay open. Donated air defense systems shoot down Russian bombs, drones and missiles.
It's been more than two years since Russian troops launched their full-scale invasion. "The brave people of Ukraine fight on, unbowed in their determination to defend their freedom and future," Biden said on February 23. "People around the world understand that the stakes of this fight extend far beyond Ukraine."
This article was written by an employee at the US Department of State, however The American agrees with its sentiments.
