As Americans cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 presidential election, we, the staff of the Kyiv Independent, ask voters in the “beacon of democracy” to consider once again why the iconic Statue of Liberty stands on an island in New York Harbor.
It was gifted to the U.S. by the people of France, whose support of the 13 colonies’ fight for independence centuries ago proved critical to their victory.
The rest is history, but the future is far from certain. How it unfolds depends on whether the U.S. slips into isolationism like it did before ultimately being pulled into World War II or leads the free world once again.
As a Ukrainian publication based in Kyiv, we are far from trying to tell U.S. voters who to support in the election — it is fully in the right of the American people to elect whoever they see fit to lead their country.
But we do want to ask all of you who cast a ballot on Tuesday to think about Ukraine and factor it in when making your choice. We aren’t just asking this as a Ukrainian team that has a personal stake in the war. We are asking this because it is our responsibility, as the people who are close enough to the fight to understand what’s at stake, to give the rest of the world the warning it deserves to hear.
U.S. history and the very foundation of the American nation can serve as a reminder of why Ukraine must get the support to win the war, and why the U.S. should continue to lead the global effort to aid Ukraine — no matter who is in the White House.
Americans — who will choose either Vice President Kamala Harris or Donald Trump as their next leader — should be mindful that Ukraine, in its standoff against an imperialist Russia, is today fighting a similar fight for freedom as America’s ancestors did. With continued and hopefully more robust backing from the U.S. and its allies, Ukraine's victory will only further strengthen America’s hand, as well as global security.
Preserving strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, where legislators will also be elected in addition to the presidential vote, will be a crucial part of achieving such an outcome for America, Ukraine, and those around the world keen on preserving international rules-based order.
We are living in precarious times. For the first time since Adolf Hitler, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pursued the largest ground war in continental Europe, threatening the annihilation of a nation and its people.
American global leadership is being challenged in Ukraine and other parts of the world by Russia and other members of what has been called an “axis of evil.” They include North Korea, with its troops reportedly set for combat against Ukraine alongside Russia’s army, Iran, which has also militarily aided the Kremlin, and China, which has been crucial in keeping Russia’s economy and military production afloat.
The lessons of World War II tell us that a bigger global standoff, perhaps World War III, can best be avoided not by appeasing dictators for fear of a larger conflict but by stopping them before the war escalates into a global one.
Providing more weaponry to Ukraine to help it decisively defeat Russia is the best chance to prevent such much-feared escalation.
Americans should also know that supporting Ukraine is a moral responsibility, given that Russia’s war is genocidal. It has the intent of destroying Ukraine as a nation, wiping out its democracy, history, and culture. Russia has gone as far as stealing Ukrainian children, a war crime that triggered the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for President Putin.
Stopping such atrocities should not be a matter of political debate. The only thing that should be up for debate is how best to stop them.
Surely, having Russia occupy more Ukrainian territory or dropping support for Ukraine’s defense so that it is forced to capitulate in a “ceasefire” or pseudo-peace agreement is not the way. The obvious solution is for Russia to be defeated in its own war. Ukraine must win. This would set an example for other hostile and oppressive regimes. Will China try to militarily take over Taiwan if it sees Moscow fail with massive losses and costs against a smaller foe backed by the West? It’s impossible to say, but it will likely think twice.
The clear-cut solution is to provide Ukraine with enough weaponry to win. This includes capabilities that President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for. This means giving Ukraine missiles and drones for long-range, deep strikes upon the war machine of Russia, whose invading forces continue to bombard cities and towns across Ukraine daily, killing and injuring civilians.
The weaponry provided by the U.S. and Kyiv’s other Western allies are not freebies. Not only do they power the donor countries’ defense industries and create jobs, but they also allow Ukraine’s allies to prepare for a new type of warfare, and be ready to deter future threats.
Russia’s war against Ukraine and the asymmetric tactics Ukraine’s outmanned and outgunned forces have used to stay in the fight have changed the future of warfare. Drones costing only thousands of dollars, operated by troops in safe cover or even relying on artificial intelligence algorithms, are routinely used to destroy conventional weaponry, such as tanks that cost millions of dollars.
The defense industries and countries of the NATO military alliance are giving stockpiles from the past to Ukraine now, knowing they are learning with Kyiv’s help how to produce the weaponry of the future that will be key to deterring China — or standoff against it should a trans-Pacific war erupt.
The chances of this happening shrink if Ukraine gets the kit needed to defeat Russia.
It’s in the power of the U.S. people to bring that day closer. They can do it every day by demanding that their government backs Ukraine’s victory. This Tuesday, they can do it by voting for whoever they see fit to help Ukraine win the war.
We understand that domestic issues are a priority for many voters. We are calling on them to also place the deserved gravitas on the issue of Russia’s threat to the world, and the U.S. moral duty to help stop it.
And when the U.S. helps Ukraine win, perhaps it can once again symbolically solidify its long-term status as the leader of the free world by gifting Ukraine its own version of the Statue of Liberty — like it was gifted to their ancestors when they won their war.
Kateryna Denisova
