Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was brutal, unprovoked aggression that has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. U.S. aid to Ukraine was not only the right thing to do, morally, but also a good investment in reducing the war-making capabilities of an adversary that is hostile to our NATO allies, such as Finland, Poland, and Estonia. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “The U.S. navy isn’t prepared to face Russia’s navy.” But as columnist Noah Smith notes, with U.S. aid, “Ukraine destroyed much of Russia’s navy, without even having a navy of their own!”
U.S. aid to Ukraine has been very small compared to America’s military budget, amounting to less than 0.2% of our GDP annually, but it had a big payoff in preventing Russia from taking over Ukraine and then menacing more of our NATO allies. Russia already engages in aggressive behavior toward our NATO allies, such as Estonia. Russia seized an Estonian official on Estonian territory near the Estonian-Russian border while he was carrying out his official duties to prevent transnational crime, and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
Here are images of 75 Russian ships sunk by the Ukrainians:
