One year into Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, it is important to remember why the United States and our allies are supporting Ukraine.   

If we had the opportunity to help Poland stop Adolf Hitler in 1939, imagine the horrors that could have been prevented and the blood and treasure that could have been saved. We have that opportunity now as the U.S. and its allies once again face strategic adversaries in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific.  

Currently, Russia is engaged in a new offensive in the east. If successful, President Vladimir Putin’s invading forces could then attempt to occupy Ukraine’s entire southern coastline. The economic and humanitarian consequences of this would be significant. 

Reminiscent of Stalin’s genocide of Ukrainians, known as the Holodomor, Russia is using its stranglehold of the Black Sea and attacks on Ukraine’s farmland to not just starve Ukraine, but also exacerbate food insecurity worldwide. Ukraine’s economic self-sufficiency and future exploration of energy reserves in surrounding waters also will be impossible without control of its Black Sea coastline, leaving it dependent on Western aid.

The full text of the opinion editorial can be found here.

Original source can be found here.