[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Since its independence, Ukraine has been a leading recipient of U.S. foreign and military aid in Europe and Eurasia. In the 2000s, total support to Ukraine amounted to nearly $1.8 billion. From 2015 to 2020, Ukraine received 418 million dollars per year. The USA ramped up its support to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, U.S. aid to Ukraine totals $113 billion dollars.
The United States remains committed to restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. It does not recognize Russia’s claims to Crimea or the other regions unlawfully annexed by Russia. Putin seems to show little interest in serious negotiations and demands that the U.S. acknowledges its annexed territories.
The U.S. was initially cautious when the 2022 conflict started, fearing the nuclear threat of Russia. Gradually, the U.S. became firmer in its beliefs. Now the U.S. wants to weaken Russia and punish Russia for its aggression. The international community views Russia as a threat to the international order, and letting Putin reign free sends a strong message that attacks by other dictators are acceptable. That is why Western powers and their partners have taken many steps to increase aid to Ukraine and punish Russia for its 2022 offensive. The USA has already provided 113 billion dollars in humanitarian, and defense support to Ukraine since the start of the Russian Invasion.
The U.S. delivered advanced rocket and missile systems, ammunition, radars, support vehicles, tanks, tactical vehicles, helicopters, and lethal drones. Because the war keeps dragging on, internal rifts in the Biden administration are appearing. The U.S. general is pushing Biden’s security staff to try for a swift diplomatic resolution of the war. However, Biden’s staff thinks that pushing for a diplomatic solution would be detrimental at this point. For Biden, it will be challenging to keep defending high expenditures for the war in Ukraine, especially when inflation and energy prices are surging.
Potential U.S. policy options:
- Guide Ukraine to negotiate a peace agreement or negotiate on behalf of Ukraine. A long war is detrimental to the US budget, and the global economy, just as well as for the people in Ukraine.
- Provide direct defense to Ukraine by committing U.S. ground troops and naval forces to Ukraine and calling on NATO allies to do the same. This option offers the possibility of halting the devastation in Ukraine and ending the war before it can spread to other countries. Yet it carries an immense risk of escalating the conflict into a broader war with Russia.
- Continue providing indirect defense by supplying Ukraine with arms, intelligence, and financial assistance. This option reduces—but does not eliminate—the risk of triggering escalation. It does not guarantee that the war will not still expand into a NATO country. Most importantly, it carries the risk that Russia will ultimately be able to defeat Ukraine’s military forces. It also means the destruction of Ukraine and the killing of many thousands of people will continue.
- Freeze the war by halting the military, humanitarian, and financial support to Ukraine. This will most probably result in a capitulation of Ukraine.
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