Opinion: Time for reflection on U.S. support for war in Ukraine

Maybe you think Vladimir Putin unilaterally attacked Ukraine in a completely unprovoked manner. Maybe you think the war is a result of a U.S.-led coup in Ukraine, NATO creep, and a Russia that felt backed into a corner. It can be difficult for even the closest observers to understand exactly what led to Russia’s invasion and the resulting year-long war for which it is currently difficult to see an end. 

Hopefully, though, everyone reading this can agree on one simple fact: War is bad. And we should work very hard to end any war, at any time. 

Now, let me ask you a question: As you watch what’s happening in Ukraine, do you think the United States is working very hard to bring that war to an end? I don’t think so, and I think that’s morally reprehensible and a stain on all of us who call ourselves citizens of the United States. Instead of traveling to Ukraine for photo ops to celebrate a donation of $3 billion in “fighting vehicles,” Senator Angus King should be calling for a cease fire and demanding equal amounts of humanitarian aid (at least!). Instead of traveling to Ukraine for photo ops to celebrate a donation of $40 billion in military aid (she literally supplies “B-roll” of the event), Senator Susan Collins should be demanding that NATO commit to de-escalation. 

Where is the spirit of the peacemaker that George Mitchell embodied?

We must be doing more to end the War in Ukraine and we must demand it of our representatives in Washington. 

Could diplomacy have resolved the conflict before it escalated? The Minsk agreements negotiated with European support outlined a plan for peace. Unfortunately, they were never adhered to and leaders like former German Prime Minister Angela Merkel have admitted that Minsk was a stalling technique aimed at buying more time to arm Ukraine. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has also reported that his attempts to broker an agreement last year were nearing success but foundered when former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky never to make a deal with Russia. 

More bloodshed and suffering ensued. While many soldiers and military personnel have died in the fighting, yes, that pales in comparison to the toll this war takes on the civilian population as they go unhoused, hungry, and are injured and killed in the fighting themselves. 

Are we actually attempting diplomacy now as a way to end the fighting? Or must it always be more weapons to fuel an effort that few observers think could ever result in a decisive victory for either side? 

Further, what does continuing war in Europe mean for Maine?

The urgent needs of Mainers who are unhoused, hungry, and cold amid soaring inflation caused in part by economic sanctions on Russia could be funded were it not for the U.S.’s insatiable appetite for weapons of war. President Biden’s budget proposal for FY24 has not only $835 billion for the Pentagon ($100 billion more than last year!) but an additional 10% increase in spending on nuclear weapons funded under the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Meanwhile, disruptive climate change is accelerating amid war, which is itself a major driver of emissions and yet further war, as nations battle over diminishing resources — not to mention the alleged U.S. bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines, uncovered by the Pulitizer-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, which caused the largest ever release of the highly destructive greenhouse gas methane. Wouldn’t the money spent conducting war on Russia have been better spent, and be better spent in the future, addressing the real existential threat of climate crisis?

Dwindling support for our proxy war in Ukraine recognizes that Ukraine is not winning and likely cannot win this war. The U.S. must not only support diplomacy but drive it forward to resolve this conflict rather than investing in more projections of force. The alternatives are dire: Not just the possibility of endless conventional war that affects the lives of millions, but also a very real threat of nuclear escalation. 

If World War 3 results from stoking this conflict with Russia (and, by extension China), the threat of nuclear annihilation for Maine and the rest of the world is real. However, even if the worst does not come to pass, we can be assured that each continuing day of war in Ukraine will bring further death, destruction, hunger, and suffering. 

What are we doing to stop it?

Lisa Savage will join other protesters against the U.S. involvement in Ukraine this Saturday, March 18, in Westbrook from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of Stroudwater Street and William Clark Drive.