Yes, Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine Does Affect The United States

Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially launched an attack against the nation of Ukraine, with multiple weapons hitting the nation last night. Putin has basically declared war against Ukraine, that much is undeniable at this point in time.

The question of the current Ukraine crisis is this: Does a nation have the right to redraw the borders of Europe because of his own desires without any input from the international community? To the vast majority of the population, the answer should be an obvious no, if only because such a thing would bring us back to the days of imperialism and direct empires that the world was supposed to move on from after World War Two.

The concept of national sovereignty, or that each nation has a right to govern itself and plot its own course, is something that only realistically exists on the condition that it is respected. This is why international groups like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — otherwise known as NATO — demand that its members commit to a shared understanding of defense. Continuing on using NATO as an example, Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty — which set up NATO — makes note of this, reading:

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

As I write this, Ukraine is not a member of NATO, meaning NATO is under no obligation to protect them at the moment. This is in spite of the fact that the people of Ukraine have constantly stated that they want to join NATO, even putting the goal of NATO membership in their constitution. Putin has also continuously said that Ukraine entering NATO would be the redline that would cause him to declare war on Ukraine, however, considering Ukraine is still not a member of NATO and Putin is invading Ukraine regardless, it’s very clear this was nothing more than an empty threat.

If I had reason to believe that Putin taking over Ukraine could happen in a vacuum, I would openly be against attempts to counter him — if only because I hope to avoid a future war. However, one cannot allow a man like Putin to invade and conquer other nations without opening the door to more aggression and conquest further down the line, not just from him, but from also foreign aggressors as well.

I mention this because many Americans, understandably, believe that the Ukraine crisis has no relation to them. I’ve already written about the nationalist and isolationist dislike of basic involvement and how it shows that nationalism cannot work in practice, a point that it seems like I’m not the only one making. Jonah Goldberg — someone who I rarely agree with — tweeted the following on 2/23/2022:

Amazing how so many of the self-proclaimed American nationalists talk such a big game about the importance of nationalism, the morality of nationalism, the necessity of nationalism, just don’t care very much when an imperial power tries to erase a nation.

Again, regardless of your opinion on Ukraine as a nation, or their borders, or the specific move Putin made, it should not have been Putin’s move to make. Putin has no right to randomly declare sections of Ukraine independent and base an invasion of that. Nor does he have the right to do actual military strikes against Ukraine specifically because he promises the false goal of protecting a non-existent independent nation.

It should be noted that many Russians agree that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a mistake, with many directly protesting the war last night. The majority of the population of both Russia and Ukraine do not want a war between the two nations to occur, but this has not stopped Putin, who is dedicated to making sure this war happens no matter what.

All of this sets a horrible precedent for the international community, the United States included. For that reason alone, the United States, and every other nation on the planet who is interested in not being invaded by an unpopular autocrat, should care about what’s going on between Ukraine and Russia.

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