In 1991, in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine became an independent nation. In 1996, five (5) years later, I had the privilege of visiting Ukraine as part of the International Republican Institute. Its purpose was to help citizens of emerging democratic nations understand the democratic process and learn how to participate in it.
During my 10 days in Ukraine, two (2) things stand front and center to this day. The first was how poor and primitive most of the country was in all aspects. While I stayed at “high-end hotels” none had any lightbulbs in the hallways, no rooms had toilets, other than a literal hole in the ground, and the hotel restaurant sold only coffee. Second, there was the overwhelming sense that the people of Ukraine, who experienced firsthand the oppression of the Russian government, appreciated more than any people I had ever met, including Americans, the privilege of freedom and self-government.
As a lifelong Republican, and a firm believer that God has created each one of us to be free, I have watched with horror how the United States has conducted itself after forcing Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in the Budapest Memorandum and then abandon Ukraine and its people while it was invaded by the evil dictator, Vladimir Putin.
A little background. Signed in 1994, the Budapest Memorandum required Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons with the promise that Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States would be protectors of Ukraine. Sadly, Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and under President Barack Obama, the United States did not have the back of Ukraine or its people and Russia got its way.
President Biden followed President Obama with the useless rhetoric opposing Russian aggression but doing nothing to effectuate a change. While such conduct is dishonorable, the current conversation being led by President Trump and top administration officials, who do not appreciate and respect Ukraine's rights to its sovereign borders, is even more dishonorable.
As the United States watched Russia build up its forces three (3) years ago, all the pundits were predicting how long it would take, in a matter of days or weeks, for Vladimir Putin's monstrous thugs to roll into Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. What Vladimir Putin, President Trump, and his sycophants fail to appreciate is that nothing can destroy the will of a people to be free. Three years later, Vladimir Putin is no closer to capturing Kyiv than when he started. But the pain and cost he has imposed is immeasurable. He has slaughtered more than 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers. He has destroyed hundreds of buildings and key infrastructure. And the worst, he has murdered around 40,000 innocent civilians and destroyed just as many or more families. And, Putin still occupies 4000 square kilometers of Ukrainian soil.
Vladimir Putin has no right to have one troop step forth in the sovereign country of Ukraine, and yet when he did so on July 31, 2022, the United States did nothing.
Now, President Trump plans to meet with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. It’s clear that President Trump still does not respect the Ukrainian people or their right to be free. Because, as a dealmaker, with no underlying principles other than to get a deal regardless of the merits, President Trump has floated a number of ideas including Ukraine ceding certain occupied areas to Russia including the mineral rights which belong to the people of Ukraine.
It is the height of arrogance for anyone, let alone the one who is called the leader of the free world, to suggest to citizens of another sovereign nation how they should reward a soul-less, ruthless, pariah who has no respect for international law, norms, or human beings. It is also the height of arrogance, for President Trump to say both sides are wrong in this conflict. No, Mr. President, YOU ARE WRONG. It is the God-given right for people to be free, and intrinsic to right, is the right of every person to protect their family, land, and future and for a sovereign nation to protect its borders and its destiny. God does not expect anybody to be a patsy for a murderer.
I hope, between now and Friday, God grants President Trump some insight as to what it would be like to be a citizen of Ukraine, or their president, and that he treats Mr. Putin accordingly when he meets him on Friday. If he does not, history will record the United States as not only abandoning the sovereign nation of Ukraine and its people, but from here on after, the United States will never be seen as a reliable ally that believes in what it states in its pledge of allegiance: liberty and justice for all.