Trump’s Supporters Are Putin’s Most Powerful Weapon

As Republicans in Congress continue to block U.S. aid, Ukraine may soon go under. Not even Europe can make up for U.S. funding.

Three things are needed to wage a war, as the Hapsburg general, Raimondo Montecuccoli, explained to his emperor in the 17th century: money, money, and more money. It’s a maxim that still applies today, particularly to Ukraine. For the last two years, the country has had to defend itself from an aggressor whose economic prowess may only be equivalent to that of Spain but that invests a substantial portion of its budget in weapons.

The U.S. in particular has kept Ukraine alive until now. In absolute terms, the United States has sent almost three times as much aid as Germany. But since Donald Trump’s lackies in Congress have been blocking further aid for the past several months, Ukraine is slowly but surely running out of weapons.

So, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin didn’t bring much more than words of perseverance when he arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Tuesday for a meeting with other Ukraine supporters. He did not respond to a question about how Europe is supposed to quickly offset the United States’ lapse in funding. That is probably because there is no answer.

Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, is having a good laugh. Donald Trump’s supporters have proven to be his most valuable secret weapon. The longer they block aid to Ukraine, the better for Russia. Already, Kyiv barely has enough ammunition left to keep the Russians from advancing. This spring, Putin’s troops will probably go on the offensive again. And no one knows where they will stop. All the money that has flowed to Ukraine until now was for nothing.