Baiz

Cyrus Baiz
Ms.Woelke
ERWC
April 12, 2018
Ukraine Can’t Stand Alone
Throughout history we see that dictators and conquerors never seem to last.
In the February of 2014 Russia tried to discreetly take over Ukraine, conquering
Crimea. The Pro-Russian Separatists have demolished Ukrainian bases and have
successful taken over control of part of Ukraine, with a goal to take it all over.
If Russia believes that it is above the law and can conquer without consequences,
then when will it end? The movie Red Dawn can come true if nothing is done to stop
Russian intervention. America needs to support our ally Ukraine and demand that
Russia give up what it has taken.
In early February of 2014, Ukraine was in turmoil. The Russians had slowly
been trying to influence the citizens of Crimea to turn against their own
government and on February 24th 2014, vehicles with Russian insignias rolled
through a town in Crimea, Ukraine. A writer for the Washington Post, Will England,
states, “President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Russia as within it’s right
to reclaim Ukraine”(England 6). Russia stated that a majority of the citizens in
Ukraine are Russian and therefore they came to protect them. Russian officials
don’t seem to know that just barely half of those living in Crimea are Russian, not
even the vast majority yet they declare it’s their right. “In a speech to a joint
session of the Russian Parliament, he compared the move to the independence
declaration of Kosovo in 2008 and the reunification of Germany in 1990, but in
reality, this is the first time that one European nation has seized territory from
another since the end of World War II”(England 10). Russia says they’re doing this
out of the good for all when not all want to be apart of Russia. Since the Russian
invasion of Crimea, rebels backed by Russia are trying to gain control of all
Ukraine.
Trusting a nation that was known to have secret police and corruption in
the highest forms of Government is nothing we should do. Jeff Mankoff from CNN
reports that we should support the Ukrainians “If the United States wants to avoid
the possibility of the violence spilling over into a broader conflict, it will need
to keep the option of more direct involvement -- including the provision of arms --
firmly on the table”(Mankoff 4). Mankoff feels that in order to keep the Ukrainians
full of morale and allow them to feel victorious is if we arm them at least.
Earlier in 2015 the United States gave Ukraine 300 humvee vehicles as support.
“Earlier, and more assertive U.S. involvement (including a commitment to provide
military assistance), would like have produced better , and quicquicker
agreement”(Mankoff 7). Mankoff states this and thinks arming Ukraine is good but
sending US soldiers is best.Furthermore, citizens around the country in Ukraine and
the U.s> feel they should send military assistance of some sort to take control and
manage the situation in Ukraine.
Everyone has their own views of how the U.S. should handle the situation in
Ukraine, some believe arming Ukraine will propel the U.S. into a war with Russia.
Johannes Sterns and Alex Lantier report that, “Washington has begun delivering
military hardware to Ukraine as part of NATO’s ongoing anti-Russian military
buildup in Eastern Europe, escalating the risk of all-out war between the NATO
alliance and Russia, a nuclear-armed power”(Johannes,Lantier 12). Stearns and
Lantier believe that arming Ukraine through NATO will start a nuclear war with
Russia. Russian Officials have stated on state run television that if they were
ever in a situation where they were not winning a war with the U.S. that they would
send all their nuclear capable missiles to destroy the U.S. as a last ditch effort.
A top Official from the Kremlin had discussed saying they could not beat the U.S.
in a conventional war, and this raises the tension of nuclear war as a last ditch
effort.
While some still think that it is not a war for the U.S. to be involved
with, others still see the U.S. as the “Police of the World”. Marc Bennetts reports
in his article Putin: Will He Go Nuclear? On the Telegraph says, “ Some 5,000 lives
have been lost in this almost year long conflict in Ukraine, where pro-Russian
Separatists in the east have carved out two self-declared “people’s republics”. The
United States, being the one to control situations like the Battle of Grenada,
should respond to Russian backed Rebels who are killing innocents. Also, the Author
writes, “But we have to defend ourselves from our enemies”. Furthermore if Russia
is declaring they will use nuclear missiles against the West, then America and
other nations should state they will use any necessary power to stop Putin if
provoked enough to put an end to his crimes.
Invading another country to protect your own citizens is a false statement
and not a reason to invade whatsoever. Obama has known for not wanting to do
anything with other foreign countries in the past, pulling what is called a lame
duck. Such actions include pulling out needed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to a
minimum who were needed to stop the advancement of ISIS. by electing a Republican
leader such as Trump he won’t let Russia get away with such actions, just as he
stated he would bomb Russia if provoked. The DPR funded and backed by Russia will
continue to try and take control of all Ukraine.

Works Cited
Bennetts, Marc. "Putin: Will He Go Nuclear?" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group,
n.d. Web.
08May 2015.
Englund, Will. "Kremlin Says Crimea Now Officially Part of Russia after Treaty
Signing, Putin
Speech."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 08 May 2015.
Mankoff, Jeff. "U.S. Should Keep Force Option on Table for Ukraine - CNN.com." CNN.
Cable
News Network, n.d. Web. 08 May 2015.
"No War with Russia? Don't Be Too Sure." The National Interest. N.p., n.d. Web. 07
May
2015.”Stern, Johannes, and Alex Lantier. "Danger of War with Russia Grows as US
Sends Military Equipment to Ukraine." World Socialist Web Site. N.p., 13 Mar. 2015.
Web.