We can't solve our domestic problems by abandoning Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine no longer dominates headlines in America. Gone are the days of Russia's rapid advance towards Kyiv only to be forcefully pushed back. Now the battle front has condensed to slower moving frontlines across Ukraine's Southeast. By concentrating their forces Russia has made itself more formidable. However, its war machine doesn't look suited for the long term. They've lost twice as many troops in the Spring of 2022 than they did in their nine year war in Afghanistan. Russia has expanded the age limits of soldiers and is sending in reservists. They've dug out antique T-62 tanks to send into battle.

It is in these conditions that Russia would badly like the West to forget about Ukraine. If the supply of heavy weapons dries up, Russian artillery will be able to grind Ukraine into the dirt. Someone Westerners would like to forget about Ukraine as well. There is a certain type of person who's knee jerk reaction to any problem beyond American borders is "Why are we helping them when we have problems at home?" Inflation, particularly gasoline prices, is pointed to as the true problem we should be focusing on. That's just terribly short sighted though.

First of all, military aid to Ukraine is not money coming out of your pocket. That's money that's already spent. We're sending weapons we already have. Sometimes it's older models we don't want. The choice is should these weapons sit in a warehouse or should they be used to defend democracy.

Secondly, there seems to be an unspoken belief that if we turned a blind eye to war crimes against Ukraine we could start getting that sweet Russian blood oil again. Well I've got news for you, the flow of Russian oil never really stopped. The European Union is still importing Russian oil. Any decreases they've made in imports have been offset by sales to China, India and Turkey. America itself has never imported much oil from Russia.

It is not our principled stance against dealing with warlords that is driving up prices, it is the war. Food prices in particular are being driven up by the destruction of productive crop land in Ukraine. Not to mention wars cause panic buying which causes inflation.

Third, many people do not seem to grasp that there is no way to satisfy a tyrant. If Russia were to take over all of Ukraine tomorrow, it would not be somehow fulfilled. They never had grand plans for Ukraine, the entire point of the war has been conquest alone. No, if Russia had an easy victory over Ukraine it would likely turn to attacking Poland next, something Poles are acutely aware of.

It is true that American people got war fatigue from decades of sending troops to occupy deserts with muddled goals. That is not what this is. There could hardly be a more clear cut hero and villain in this battle. Ukraine is a youthful democracy that was invaded. Russia is a mafia empire that threatens the world. And No, the fact that they threaten us does not mean we should stand down.

Russia's time frame to win this war is limited. Russians nervously support the war, but would likely turn against the state if a draft was implemented. Russia's stockpile of heavy artillery is larger than Ukraine's, but ours is far larger. There's a possibility to bring down not just Putin but the whole Russian Empire.

Critics such as Ross Douthat, New York Times, is wringing his hands about how we can't keep giving Ukraine military aid. But clearly we can. We've been giving military aid to Israel for decades. He is also of the opinion that it would be too dangerous to let Putin fall from power, let alone have the Russian Empire collapse. That has basically been the position of the US government for the past 30 years. That thinking is what has gotten us to today's war. The danger comes, and has always come, from the Russian Empire, it's collapse shouldn't be feared but sought after.

Ukraine needs more weapons. We can provide them.