Letter to the Editor: The United States must end The Russian-Ukrainian War

Mark Harris, a candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives, submitted this Letter to the Editor. Please note these views do not reflect those of The New Political.

The United States should stop giving munitions to Ukraine until they commit to peace talks with the Russian government. It is atrocious that Russia decided to create the conflict and I believe it was right to help Ukraine resist the Russian conquest. However, given the stalemate in the conflict, it is time to bring the war to an end. 

I don’t mean to sound cruel or unempathetic, but it is time to recognize that perpetuating the conflict is far more cruel than putting a rapid end to it. The Ukrainian Summer counter offensive has moved slowly. This has led some United States officials to become concerned about the Ukrainians ability to make significant progress as we get closer to the colder months. This has been an even less effective offensive than last year’s push. Even if the Ukrainians were to meet their summer counter-offensive goals, no one is predicting this will end the conflict.

However, actions from the United States could. It is clear that the Ukrainians want to keep fighting even if their progress is slow and the conflict goes on for years. I understand why this is, but that does not mean that it is the right course of action for the United States to facilitate. 

Instead, the United States should force the Ukrainians to negotiate peace with the Russians. The United States can force the Ukrainians to move to negotiations by threatening to end military aid and offering post-conflict reconstructive aid. The Russian regime is not going to change as the West may wish. Western Powers must recognize this, and it is shameful for the West to continue to allow Ukrainian men to be thrown into a brutal war that is leading nowhere for their geo-political aspirations. 

Especially when weapons like cluster munitions are being used. According to Human Rights Watch, “Cluster munitions pose an immediate threat to civilians during conflict by randomly scattering submunitions or bomblets over a wide area. They continue to pose a threat by leaving remnants, including submunitions that fail to explode upon impact becoming de facto landmines.”  It is important to note the United States is one of just a few countries that produces and uses such weapons. There are significant factors that only affect the United States that should be considered as well. 

One is cost. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the United States has spent $76.8 billion in total aid, $46.6 billion of which is military aid. This is not a small amount and considering that the Ukrainians are struggling even with this level of support, it can be argued that it is not being put to best use. In United States domestic politics, the national debt is a major point of contention, so it is hard to see how such spending will be allowed for long. 

This is more reason for the United States to leverage its current influence to bring the war to an end. Another factor that the United States should consider is how supplying the Ukrainians is affecting our ability to project strength in the Pacific. 

It is known to the Chinese that we are diverting a lot of resources to the Ukrainians that we had stockpiled. This means that we have less assets on hand in case of conflict in Taiwan. 

Additionally, in part the Ukrainian conflict and the economic sanctions imposed by the West in response to the Russian aggression has caused more international trade to move away from using the dollar as trade currency. The issues caused by this conflict are mounting. 

With the other global and domestic issues, the United States will be facing in the coming decades, it is not just amoral to prop up a proxy conflict, it is downright reckless. It is time for the United States to use its economic and military capacity to put a stop to the conflict and give up trying to achieve regime change in Russia. It is simply wrong to give the Ukrainians the tools to wage an endless war even if that’s what they are asking us for.

It is not out of a lack of concern for the Ukrainian people nor an endorsement of the Russian state’s actions but simply a recognition that this war is rapidly approaching futility which will in turn lead to mass unnecessary killing of young Ukrainian men.