Random Thoughts
Is Military Aid to Ukraine Really Helping?
Is it just making things worse, or preventing the spread of the war?
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Before you accuse me of being a Russian bot, or worse, a Russian shill, know that I am unequivocally opposed to Putin’s unjustified attack on Ukraine.
Now that we have that out of the way, I am wondering if providing weapons to Ukraine is actually helping the Ukrainian people. I am convinced that humanitarian aid is necessary and is helping Ukrainians survive. Food, medicine, clothing, and shelter are never harmful, but are the weapons that the West is providing doing more harm than good?
Yes, Ukrainians have fought the invaders to a virtual standstill in many parts of the country thanks to weapons from the West. On its face, this could be counted as a good thing. It is, however, allowing the Russians an opening to shell cities and bomb them into oblivion.
Mariupol, for example, is being turned into a pile of rubble and the people who live there have been forced to flee or are being forced to live in intolerable conditions. The same is true in Kharkiv.
Would things be better or merely different if Ukrainians didn’t have weapons from the West? Surely Putin would continue his advance and take over of Ukraine, but would more Ukrainians be alive today who are not if it were not for other countries stepping in with weapons?
Possibly. There is no telling how many people would be killed or imprisoned as dissidents. Surely, aid from the West is sending a clear message to Putin that Ukraine is not on the menu and neither are the other former Soviet States.
It seems that Putin sees military aid in the same light as military engagement. Are we pushing him more toward the use of nuclear weapons?
What do you think? Is military aid helping the people of Ukraine? Should the West limit its aid to purely humanitarian help, or should military aid be on the table as well?
