The Right Signal to Moscow
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 21 December 2022
by Reinhard Veser (link to original)
The Kremlin is hoping that the West will grow weary of Ukraine. Images of the Ukrainian president in the United States and the provision of Patriot missiles are demonstrating the opposite.
Without support from the United States, Ukraine would not have been able to stand firm against the Russian invasion. And it certainly would not have been able to liberate large swaths of the territory that Russia had initially taken without American weapons shipments.
The European NATO members’ contribution to Ukraine’s defense has been meaningful. But it is the aid from the U.S. that has been decisive in allowing the Ukrainians’ courage on the battlefield and creativity to translate into successes against the aggressor. That is true not just in a material sense, but also politically. If Washington had not taken the lead, weapons shipments from Europe probably would have been less substantial. That is especially the case for Germany, which had to be pressured to send anything beyond helmets and ambulances.
Biden: The Right Man in the Right Place
U.S. President Joe Biden may show his age in some of his public appearances. And some of his statements may not be well thought-out. But given the brutal challenges that the regime in Moscow has presented to the democratic world, he has proven himself to be the right man in the right place. It is thus logical that the Ukrainian’s first foreign visit since the beginning of the large-scale Russian has now taken him to Washington.
The fact that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s trip to the U.S. was perceived negatively in the Kremlin even before the Ukrainian president had arrived in the U.S. demonstrates that the visit is sending the right political signal to Moscow. Russian leadership is hoping that the West will eventually grow weary of Ukraine. Images of Zelenskyy in Washington and America’s promise to deliver Patriot missiles are demonstrating the opposite. At the same time, they are counter-insurance for Eastern European NATO member states that themselves feel threatened by Russia. And they should motivate Berlin to provide even more assistance to Ukraine.
Without support from the United States, Ukraine would not have been able to stand firm against the Russian invasion. And it certainly would not have been able to liberate large swaths of the territory that Russia had initially taken without American weapons shipments.
The European NATO members’ contribution to Ukraine’s defense has been meaningful. But it is the aid from the U.S. that has been decisive in allowing the Ukrainians’ courage on the battlefield and creativity to translate into successes against the aggressor. That is true not just in a material sense, but also politically. If Washington had not taken the lead, weapons shipments from Europe probably would have been less substantial. That is especially the case for Germany, which had to be pressured to send anything beyond helmets and ambulances.
Biden: The Right Man in the Right Place
U.S. President Joe Biden may show his age in some of his public appearances. And some of his statements may not be well thought-out. But given the brutal challenges that the regime in Moscow has presented to the democratic world, he has proven himself to be the right man in the right place. It is thus logical that the Ukrainian’s first foreign visit since the beginning of the large-scale Russian has now taken him to Washington.
The fact that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s trip to the U.S. was perceived negatively in the Kremlin even before the Ukrainian president had arrived in the U.S. demonstrates that the visit is sending the right political signal to Moscow. Russian leadership is hoping that the West will eventually grow weary of Ukraine. Images of Zelenskyy in Washington and America’s promise to deliver Patriot missiles are demonstrating the opposite. At the same time, they are counter-insurance for Eastern European NATO member states that themselves feel threatened by Russia. And they should motivate Berlin to provide even more assistance to Ukraine.
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