During a speech marking the two years since Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky mourned those lost*, but also expressed hope: “Today, unfortunately, each of us has someone to whom we will honor with a minute of silence. We bow our heads together. 730 days of pain. But at the same time, 730 days of hope,” he said.
And indeed, Ukraine desperately needs hope – and much more.
As Ukraine faces yet another year of war against the Russian invaders, as brave Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines plead for ammunition, and as the very survival of their country hangs in the balance, Republicans in the U.S. Congress continue to shamelessly stall $61 billion in military aid to that desperate country.
On the other hand, European countries continue to generously step up and support Ukraine.
Leaders of the 27 European Union (E.U.) countries sealed a deal recently to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in support for its war-ravaged economy. The E. U. has collectively provided about $148.5 billion in assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, surpassing the total of $113 billion appropriated by the U.S.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, posted recently on ‘X’: “More than ever, we stand firmly by Ukraine. Financially, economically, militarily, morally. Until the country is finally free…”
Today, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) met with President Zelenskyy “to reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine and salute once more the bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people who have been fighting tirelessly for Ukraine’s freedom and democratic future.”
EU countries have individually provided generous military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. So have Canada and nations as far away as South Korea and Japan.
Perhaps no other country has provided more aid, in proportion to its size, than the small country of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands recently scrapped plans to sell six F-16 fighter jets to a U.S. company and will prepare the planes for delivery to Ukraine instead. This makes it a total of 24 F-16s the Netherlands has provided embattled Ukraine.
The Netherlands has previously provided various military equipment to Ukraine including T-72 tanks, Patriot air defense systems, PzH 2000 155 mm self-propelled howitzers and two Alkmaar-class minehunter vessels. It has also teamed with Denmark to supply Leopard 2A4 tanks, and with Denmark and Germany to deliver more than 100 Leopard 1 tanks.
The Netherlands has already given Ukraine $2.83 billion in military aid and has earmarked another $2.2 billion for support for Ukraine in 2024.
“With this substantial amount, we send a clear signal that we are determined to continue our support for Ukraine, now and in the future,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a post on ‘X.’
It is not only military aid that the Netherlands provides to embattled Ukraine. Aid comes in many ways, including the over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees the Netherlands has taken in since the beginning of the war.
In addition, funds for training, reconstruction, humanitarian aid, health care, agriculture and “Justice for Ukraine”: “Working to ensure that war crimes do not go unpunished and that people who have suffered damage, loss or injury in the war receive compensation.”
This brings me to the richest, most powerful, most freedom-loving nation on earth, a member of the Group of Seven that today solemnly reaffirmed ”our unwavering support for Ukraine and salute once more the bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people who have been fighting tirelessly for Ukraine’s freedom and democratic future.”
Sadly that one member – the United States of America — is prevented to live up to its solemn commitment by a group of spineless Republican legislators who are holding hostage a $61 billion military aid package to a desperate people because they are beholden to a charlatan who has been indicted on 91 felony charges.
This is how a decent member of that party, Representative Ken Buck,(R. Co.), viewed the actions of his Republicans colleagues this morning on CNN:
As a Republican I am embarrassed that my party is holding up funding that absolutely needs to be made to Ukraine to let them fight the Russian invasion. …We need to get past that.
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We need to understand the threat that Russia has and is to the European countries, our allies, our trading partners, those who share our values much more than other countries around the world. I am really ashamed that the Republican Party doesn’t step up, recognize this threat and support the people of Ukraine who are fighting, who are dying in this war.
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It would be a terrible burden for any Republican candidate to take into the election cycle to be blamed for the mass loss of life that will occur if Russia takes all of Ukraine and the threat to our NATO allies and a war that none of us want to see a world war between major nuclear powers.
Enough said.
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* It has been difficult to ascertain the number of Ukrainian military who have lost their lives during the two-year war. Today, President Volodymyr Zelensky said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during Russia’s invasion.
