Funding Ukraine to Kill Russians

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission.

“Meanwhile, Ukraine is running out of ammunition.”

That was the last sentence in Heather Cox Richardson’s “Letters from an American” column for January 25, 2024.

I read her daily columns. She’s a strong supporter of the Democratic Party and Joe Biden. She believes Biden has performed well as president and that he’s leading America to a strong and sustainable economic recovery. She deplores Republicans and particularly Donald Trump. And, as her throwaway line above suggests, she’s a strong supporter of Biden’s foreign policy.

“Meanwhile, Ukraine is running out of ammunition.” And I guess it’s the job of all patriotic and loyal Americans to continue funding war in a former Soviet republic. Why? Because if we Americans don’t enable the killing of Russians in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin will allegedly be emboldened to attack NATO, invade Europe, and kill U.S. troops.

We must use Ukrainian troops over there so we don’t have to fight the Russians closer to home with U.S. troops.

As far as how long the U.S. government should keep sending ammunition and other forms of deadly munitions to Ukraine, the answer of war hawks like Richardson seems to be: “For as long as it takes for Ukraine to win.” What winning looks like is often left undefined, but it seems a “win” would involve the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

How long such a “win” might take, whether such a “win” is even possible, and how many more Ukrainians (and Russians) must die in pursuit of that “win” are questions that go unanswered. Typically when I raise such questions, I’m told it’s up to Ukraine and its leaders to answer them. My job as a U.S. taxpayer is simply to lend my country’s money to Ukraine so that it can have more bullets and bombs to kill more Russians.

Helping to sustain a viciously stalemated war in Ukraine by sending more ammunition should make me proud to be an American, so I’m told. Why am I not proud of this? What is wrong with my brain that I don’t see the pressing need to send more bullets and bombs and shells to Ukraine so that the killing might continue?

After all, what’s wrong with more cluster munitions and depleted uranium shells for our Ukrainian comrades? What could be more democratic, more reasonable, more American, than helping others to kill?

William J. Astore is a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF). He taught history for fifteen years at military and civilian schools. He writes at Bracing Views.