Democrat Or Republican: No Effect On War In Ukraine – OpEd

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine most of the Western media have suggested that with the indirect entry of the United States into the battlefield, things have gone in favor of Ukraine. Regardless of the accuracy of this proposition, the support for Ukraine is facing very serious criticism from many American politicians.

In fact, not only many Republicans but also a significant number of Democrats disapprove of the current process and have demanded adjustment or a complete change of the situation. So far, the US has earmarked a whopping sixty billion dollars to support Ukraine out of which more than seventeen billion have been military aid. Also, another fifty-billion-dollar package is on the way. Given the majority of Republicans in the House, things can drastically change. 

In this regard, a number of prominent Republican figures, referring to the increase in the costs of American households, considered this amount of foreign aid unreasonable and promised a fundamental change to this situation. In fact, Republicans will most probably achieve their goal now that they have gained a majority in the House of Representatives. However, there are some intra-party disagreements and figures like Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell do not approve of the reduction of aid and even want the White House to increase it. These people who are more political figures than technocrats have strongly taken a stance against Russia and Putin and seek Russia’s definitive defeat in the war with Ukraine.

Thus, what is clear is that there is a battle going on in the Republican Party which is between the classic and populist views. Although many in Europe as well as the United States have looked at the developments with optimism, they are fed up with the illusion of bipartisan cooperation and believe that even if the composition of both parliaments changes, there will be no change in the general policies of the United States, including support for Ukraine. But democrats’ letter to the Biden administration calling for negotiations and reconciliation with Russians indicates that a bipartisan deal is just a dream. The signatories of this letter asked the President of the United States to add diplomatic leverage to economic and military support for Ukraine.

Also, in another part of the letter, they called for more efforts to achieve a ceasefire and direct negotiations with Russia as the final solution. Although the majority of the authors of the letter were from the so-called progressive wing of the Democrats, which includes radical figures like Ilhan Omar and Alexander Ocasio Cortez, this does not mean that other Democrats do not endorse them. Moreover, those Democrats who have remained silent cannot be indifferent to spending huge amounts of money in Ukraine, especially when their country is in recession. According to recent polling by Pew Research Center, many Americans still support the continuation of aid to Ukraine, however; the level of this public support has decreased and the opposition to these aids is higher than before. 

The question is whether US aid to Ukraine has an effect on the final fate of the war or not. The short answer to this question is no. Considering the recent developments and the prolongation of this military conflict, the West has suffered the most. The increase in inflation and fuel price indicates that the situation is fragile. Although it is claimed Europe has completed its gas reserves and will not have a problem with fuel supply, it seems that this is only related to a few countries such as Germany and France, and less privileged European countries do not have such a possibility. Therefore, what threatens the seemingly united front of the West against Russia is not a mere decrease or increase in financial and military aid, but popular dissatisfaction resulting from economic pressures and excessive government focus on Ukraine. In other words, in a situation where the United States and other allied countries are facing thousands of problems within their borders, they do not have much room for maneuvering in Ukraine. 

The United States is evading responsibility for the war in Ukraine. But the international community is cognizant of the fact that the UA is responsible for NATO’s expansion strategy to the east and interference in Ukraine’s domestic issues. The proxy war in Ukraine and possibly Taiwan is designed to protect the US. Washington had better look into the actual causes of the war and stop shedding crocodile tears for the war-stricken people of another part of the world.