Trump and Ukraine

The conflict in eastern Ukraine is still unsettled. Just last week the Trump Administration released another wave of sanctions on Russian people and Russian businesses related to Ukraine. This conflict in Ukraine has been ongoing with no end in sight for quite sometime. Under the Obama administration, President Obama was very open in expressing why he thought military aid would not be the right course of action. Obama explained how it could escalate tension between Russia and the United States if the United States were to provide weapons to help Ukraine. This is opposite to what Trump has actually started to do. Trump has started to provide antitank weaponry to Ukraine. This was a well-calculated and fantastic move on behalf of Trump and his administration. 

For a number of reasons, Trump and his administration made the right decision to give weapons to Ukraine. The first being that Ukraine is an ally of the United Staes. In 1994 Ukraine agreed to give up their nuclear weapons so long as they had protection from Russia, Britain, and the United States—should they be invaded. When Russia ended up actually invading Ukraine, in response, Obama imposed sanctions on Russia. Nothing went ever beyond this and the sanctions didn't ever stop Russia from trying to gain control of Ukraine. The sanctions—while they did result in relieving Ukraine somewhat—had a purpose of pushing Russia back. The sanctions didn't have the intention of directly aiding their ally. After sanctions failed numerous times during the Obama administration, something should have been done different. Obama did not do anything different but Trump is actively helping Ukrainian people. Trump is upholding the promise that was made to Ukraine years ago and directly helping Ukrainians by providing weapons to protect themselves. 

Secondly, Putin has an objective to expand his empire. His original reason for invading Ukraine was to stop the country from becoming westernized. After a rigged election with Putin’s pick of a candidate winning, Ukraine’s citizenry was fed up with the direction that their country was going. They rallied to overthrow their government with the hope of becoming a nation more centered around democratic values. This overthrow that transpired supports the infamous United States agenda of spreading democracy throughout the world. Putin hoped to be able to keep a communist ideology alive in Ukraine. Ukraine has the largest geographical space in Europe and borders Russia to the east.  Ukraine becoming westernized would be a huge setback in his objective to expand his empire. Trumps support of the Ukraine and the providing of weapons further helps to show the United States as the world superpower that spreads freedom where it can. The United States is always willing and happy to show how powerful we are, and Trump’s providing of the weapons to Ukraine definitely shows our might. 

On a domestic front, this was also a great move for Trump to make. Providing weapons to Russia has bipartisan support across the board. Both Democrats and Republicans during the Obama administration criticized him heavily for not doing more than imposing sanctions on Russia. Trump is able to show his willingness to help an ally and support freedom in other parts of the world. A positive victory for the President that is supported by both Democrat and Republican representatives shows unity across our government. This is able to look good to our citizens as well as the rest of the world. When the executive and legislative branches are able to agree on one topic, it would make sense that they would have an inclination to work together on issues in the future. Trump providing weapons to Ukraine, with bipartisan support from Congress, can pave the way for more effective future decisions. 

Trump and his administration’s decision to provide weapons for Ukraine is still in it’s infancy. We will not be able to see how Russia reacts to these weapons for quite some time. The reservation that Obama had was one that many think of when disagreeing with giving military aid to Ukraine. Giving aid to Ukraine could escalate the situation between Russia and the United States even more. The last thing anyone would ever want is another Cold War between Russia and the United States. Although this reservation is valid, there was really no other option of what to do with Russia. Sanction after sanction, Russia was not getting the message to lay off of Ukraine. Trump took firm action against Russia and it proves to be the right decision.