Military aid from the United States and NATO has enabled Ukraine to repel the Russian military threat to its independence. The West must now answer Ukraine’s increasingly desperate pleas for air defense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has successfully exploited Zelensky’s weakness. Using a range of different missiles, Putin’s aerial strikes are devastating civilian neighborhoods and destroying critical infrastructure. On Sunday, Russia embraced its new rogue state status by shelling Kherson and Dnipro on the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor.
WORLD LEADERS CONNECT STALIN’S CRIMES TO UKRAINE’S CURRENT PLIGHT
Russia’s crimes in this war are numerous and well documented. A train evacuating refugees and carrying 100 children was hit by Russian shelling. A bomb was dropped on a theater in Mariupol, which satellite imagery clearly depicted the word “children” in large Russian script painted on the ground outside the red-roofed building. That strike left as many as 500 civilians trapped and an unknown number of casualties.
In response, Zelensky has continually pleaded with the West to establish a no-fly zone. In March, it was clear Washington would not approve a no-fly zone for fear of direct NATO escalation with Russia. But we are now 10 months into a war where the principal target of Russian artillery is clearly civilians and Moscow is retreating. Russia is rapidly depleting its wartime munition stockpiles. It has been forced to buy ammunition, drones, and ballistic missiles from Iran and North Korea. Reports also indicate that Russia is resorting to removing nuclear warheads from 1980s vintage AS-15 Kent air-launched cruise missiles.
The West must respond.
Since Day One of this conflict, President Joe Biden and NATO have habitually waited for existential military threats to Ukraine to materialize before acting. This must stop. Ukraine needs weapons to defend against drones, ballistic missiles, and airstrikes. If we know Iran is providing Russia with the means to kill Ukrainian civilians, why are we not providing the means to protect those civilians? Yes, Ukraine has been provided air defense systems piecemeal by a handful of NATO countries, but it does not have the capability to shield against the sheer volume of death raining down.
In June, one of us argued to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems and long-range artillery munitions. Today, as we enter the month of December, we renew that argument. Ukraine needs the tools to defend itself and strike back at the launch sites, regardless of location: Russia, Belarus, Crimea, or the Black Sea. The Russian way of war of targeting civilians must not be permitted.
Labeling a country as a terrorist state is not nearly enough.
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Jonathan Sweet, a retired Army colonel, served 30 years as a military intelligence officer. Follow him on Twitter @JESweet2022.
Mark Toth is a retired economist, historian, and entrepreneur who has worked in banking, insurance, publishing, and global commerce. Follow him on Twitter @MCTothSTL.
