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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has borne out an ensemble of World War II characters. Volodymyr Zelensky is impressively Churchillian. Vladimir Putin is staunchly Hitlerian. Joe Biden is Neville Chamberlain, pure and simple. The preemptive blunders made by the Free World that potentially could have averted Putin’s latest territorial overreach, enter the realm of a betrayal. Complying with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, committed the United States and the United Kingdom with defending Ukraine’s sovereignty. At this point, what must America do now to help Ukraine?
There are a series of measures which the United States could do. These actions should remain in effect whether Ukraine loses its independence and is occupied by Russia. In other words, should the Putin regime cause the collapse of the free Ukrainian state, a resistance insurgency will likely spring forth. This effectual government in arms, de facto and de jure, will become the legitimate voice of Ukraine. America must continue aiding Ukrainians and maintain this comprehensive policy until Ukraine is free once again. American military aid must flow now to the embattled Eastern European country. This must include tactical and logistical assistance.
Air superiority will likely weigh in favor of the victor. The reason Putin is attacking with missiles fired from a distance instead of air force bombers, is because of the success of Ukrainian antiaircraft weaponry. Additionally, Ukraine still has planes that they have performed well against Russian aircraft. America must accelerate and amplify its transfer of military hardware to Ukrainians.
Why hasn’t the United States delivered A-10 Thunderbolt airplanes to Ukraine already? The 40-mile caravan of Russian armored battalions preparing to advance on Kiev have been sitting idly and visibly for days. They are an easy target which would give Ukraine a big military score. The A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft is especially formulated for that task. The Ukrainian Air Force has qualified pilots who have been trained to fly them.
Stinger surface-to-air missiles would go along way in neutralizing Putin’s air power. America must step up their delivery to the Ukrainian military forces. Promised delivery of MIG-29 fighter jets by Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia for Ukraine after stalling, now appears to have died. Politico reported on Friday, March 4, that the idea of badly needed fighter jets to help Ukrainians push back on the Russian invaders has been scrapped. The bizarre change of mind and arguably treacherous act by the European Union democracies, appears to have been pressured by NATO appeasement postures. Polish President Andrzej Duda, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at his side, stated on Tuesday, March 1, at Łask Air Base in Poland, that sending jets “would open a military interference in the Ukrainian conflict.”
The Russian dictator’s “nuclear” option threat has paid off for him. The West, with NATO being its emblematic post-World War II military command center, craved in and abandoned Ukraine (once again). America must not follow suit in allowing the Putin regime to have a monopoly of air power command over Ukrainian territory. If the Biden-Harris administration continues its Chamberlain course, the Russian führer will again threaten with “nuclear” talk. Who’s next? Poland, Estonia, Latvia, or Finland? Cowardice only fosters aggression from your enemies. Helping Ukrainians successfully fight the Russians today, could spare Americans having to do it tomorrow.
Julio M Shiling, political scientist, writer, director of Patria de Martí and The Cuban American Voice, lecturer and media commentator. A native of Cuba, he currently lives in the United States. Twitter: @JulioMShiling // Julio es politólogo, escritor, director de Patria de Martí y The Cuban American Voice. Conferenciante y comentarista en los medios. Natural de Cuba, vive actualmente en EE UU.