I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the people of the United States on the inauguration of their new President, Donald Trump. At this historic moment, it is worth pausing to reflect on what truly makes America great, and how it can become even greater.
Throughout its history, the United States has fought for freedom. From the Revolutionary War to the fight against Nazism, this commitment to freedom has defined the United States both at home and abroad.
This resonates deeply with Ukrainians, who also have a long history of fighting for our freedom. Generations of Ukrainians resisted Russian imperialism, Nazism, and Soviet terror in a struggle that has lasted for centuries. With the help of the United States and the free world, Ukraine is now defending itself against a resurgent Russian imperialism in the twenty-first century.
As the largest invasion of Europe since World War II approaches its three-year mark, this shared commitment to freedom has brought the United States and Ukraine closer than ever. There are also a number of very practical reasons why continued support for Ukraine is good for the United States and President Trump.
Although the United States is not at war with Russia, the Russians firmly believe that they are at war with the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to outmaneuver Trump and sees the invasion of Ukraine as an opportunity to humiliate the United States on the world stage.
Putin’s immediate goal is to erase Ukrainian independence, but his ultimate goal is to reverse the 1991 verdict and dismantle the entire rules-based international order led by the United States. If left unchecked in Ukraine, Putin will seek to subjugate other countries of the former Russian empire, from Moldova and Belarus in Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan and the Central Asian states.
If the West allows the current invasion of Ukraine to succeed, the main beneficiaries will be Russia and other authoritarian regimes, including China, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, as well as a number of rogues such as Hamas and Hezbollah. This axis of autocrats is already forming in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The emergence of an autocratic new world order would be disastrous for U.S. interests. NATO would be deeply discredited, while authoritarian dictators around the world would be emboldened. The U.S. dollar would give way to the Chinese yuan as the world’s currency of choice, while many of the United States’ current partners across the Global South would begin to lean increasingly toward Beijing. The impact on international security and the U.S. economy would be profound.
Crucially, a Russian victory in Ukraine would do irreparable damage to the prestige that underpins U.S. power in the world. In 2021, Putin watched with glee as the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan failed. Now he is eager to repeat the process in Ukraine. The Kremlin dictator is convinced that doing so would undermine U.S. authority while dramatically increasing Russia’s influence in Europe and beyond.
Putin’s autocratic cronies would also draw the logical conclusions from Russia’s success in Ukraine and be encouraged to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy. This would soon undermine the security of US allies, including Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
Trump has an opportunity to prevent all this. By standing firmly with Ukraine, he can halt the slide toward World War III and restore U.S. leadership at a time when international stability is increasingly threatened by Putin’s axis of autocrats.
It is important to acknowledge the role of US President Joe Biden and the bipartisan support of the Democratic and Republican parties, which have played an important role in strengthening Ukraine since 2022. At the same time, it is clear that much more could have been done. As a Ukrainian, I sincerely hope that the Trump administration will now go further.
As many commentators have noted, military aid to Ukraine may be one of the best foreign policy investments in U.S. history, significantly undermining the military capabilities of a key adversary without requiring any action on the ground. Support for Ukraine is also good for the economy. After all, much of the aid given to Ukraine is actually spent in the United States, creating defense jobs.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the key foreign policy issue facing the Trump administration. The outcome of the war Putin unleashed nearly three years ago will shape the international security climate for decades to come. It should be obvious by now that this is not a minor dispute that can be resolved through appeasement and compromise. It should be equally obvious that Western weakness is only emboldening Russian aggression.
While some Western leaders continue to waver, Putin is becoming increasingly confident and has staked everything on victory in Ukraine. He has put all of Russian society on a war footing and is openly preparing his country for the rigors of a long war. It would be a mistake to think that he will stop unless forced to do so.
Military cooperation between Moscow and its authoritarian allies is also deepening at an alarming rate. Iran is arming Russia with drones and is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. Thousands of North Korean soldiers are fighting on the front lines against Ukraine, while China is accused of providing “very substantial” aid to the Russian war machine. All these countries are united in their desire to subdue the United States and destroy the current international order.
Stopping Russia will require bold action. That means imposing and strictly enforcing new sanctions that will deny Moscow the energy exports that finance the invasion. It means putting pressure on anyone directly or indirectly aiding Russia’s war effort. In parallel, military support for Ukraine must increase significantly, and restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself must be lifted.
The war will end only when Ukraine’s security is ensured. To achieve that, Ukraine needs ironclad security guarantees that will protect the country from further Russian aggression until it can join NATO. Trump’s plan, modeled on the post-World War II Marshall Plan and financed by confiscated Russian sovereign assets, could spur Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
I am convinced that a fair and sustainable peace can be achieved through negotiations. These negotiations should be held in a four-party format with the participation of Ukraine, the United States, the European Union and Russia. In 2014, I was one of the initiators of this format, which was created in Geneva. The alternative, when Ukraine is alone against Russia, would mean the capitulation of the United States and the entire Western world.
While realpolitik advocates call for concessions, the reality is that the future of international security depends on a staunch defense of the rules-based order against Russian onslaught. The West has the strength and resources to do so. All that is needed is strong leadership from the United States.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk is the Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and former Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014-2016).
Source: Source
