A fundamental step to maintain the hope of Ukrainians in the face of the Russian invasion was taken this Wednesday (24). A military aid package worth 61 billion dollars was finally signed into law by President Joe Biden, after being approved by the US Congress. With the help, the invaded country will receive air defense ammunition, artillery for rocket systems and armored vehicles, essential to contain the advance of Vladimir Putin’s army.
American aid, discussed since last year and blocked in Congress ever since due to the stubbornness of Republicans, will bring precious encouragement to the Ukrainian resistance, which has been fighting bravely in a war that should not have even started. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself, who has been complaining about the lack of weapons for months and appealing to the common sense of American congressmen, said that the package will be vital for the country to defend itself against Russian military aggression. Biden assured that the first supplies will be sent in the coming days — and resources must be made available quickly and vigorously.
The abandonment of Ukraine to its tormentor cannot even be an alternative to be considered by Western countries.
The situation of the Ukrainians is dramatic. In recent weeks, the Russians have managed to continually advance into territories in the Donetsk region and intensified attacks on the country’s electrical system, which has already lost 80% of its thermal electricity generation capacity. On many fronts, in addition to the lack of weapons, supplies and military equipment, there is even a shortage of soldiers. Defending what little infrastructure remains and blocking Russian troops are priorities. Ideally, American aid, combined with the European Union aid package worth 50 billion euros, which will be distributed over four years, would be enough to expel the Russians and put an end to Putin’s crazy expansionist projects, but it is still too early to say what the real impact of American aid in the war will be.
The biggest problem was the delay in approving the resources in the American Congress. The expectation was that the package would be approved at the end of last year, ensuring that Ukraine could receive supplies as early as January, which would certainly have slowed Russian advances and limited damage to infrastructure. But, as seen within the European Union, support for the Ukrainian cause in the USA, initially unrestricted, gradually weakened, to the point where Republicans chose to block the progress of the package in the American Congress, partly fueled by the bravado of the former -President Donald Trump, who has already said that, if elected, he intends to stop aid to Kiev.
In his message of thanks, Zelensky spoke of the US role as a “beacon of democracy and leader of the free world”, but this role was almost definitively set aside to give way to partisan disputes between Republicans and Democrats. It was only after many negotiations and concessions that it was possible to reach, fortunately, an agreement to approve the package. So much delay benefited the Russian dictator, who faced a weakened Ukraine in recent months. Putin is counting on the exhaustion of the USA and the EU to take Ukraine once and for all and, after that, who knows, he could even advance on other territories in Western Europe.
No matter how hard the first two years of the war were, European and American efforts to maintain Ukrainian resistance and enable a counteroffensive cannot cease. There are causes that, even though they are exhausting and require sacrifices, are worth it, and the defense of Ukrainian integrity is one of them. What Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship did was an unprecedented civilizational setback. The abandonment of Ukraine to its tormentor cannot even be an alternative to be considered by Western countries; it is about the fight for the future with a minimally civilized global order. To capitulate would be to surrender to barbarism.
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