The Ukrainian solution starts with United States
April 19, 2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has cost thousands their lives, and that bloodshed has been broadcast over social media to millions around the world. That world and those people have come to a singular conclusion: war is hell, and it’s Russia’s fault.
As war rages on in Ukraine, the question that really ought to matter to Americans is what should we do. And the answer isn’t simple.
The solution to war in Ukraine is not American boots on Ukrainian soil. Any action taken by the United States against Russia would rightly be considered an act of war. The United States does not need another war, especially during the faltering first steps of a previously pandemic ridden state. An escalation to war would be yet another burden on the American people. And we don’t need that.
If the answer to the conflict isn’t missiles or bullets, what should the United States do? The solution diverges in two separate directions.
First, the United States should supply Ukrainian forces with cutting edge military technology. So far, the guerrilla tactics of Ukrainian forces have held the Russians at bay, forcing them to throw more men and money at stronghold cities like Kyiv. But supplies will run low, and valiant efforts to hold cities will soon crumple without reliable and effective military technology. The US is in a prime position to supply said technology, and improved weapons could be the deciding factor in beating back outdated Russian forces. The first step to ending the conflict in Ukraine? Make the prospect of invasion hopeless for the Russians. The best way to do that is to supply Ukrainian forces to the teeth.
Second, the United States should cut off all economic ties to Russia. If you’ve been to buy gas recently, you’ve seen the ramifications of war. Russia produces a large amount of oil and gas, a significant portion of which fuels the US. Increased fuel prices, due to American sanctions on Russia, have led to increased prices for products in every sector of our economy. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Under President Trump in 2020, the United States was energy independent, meaning that we didn’t have to import any oil or natural gas. Gas prices, in Florida at least, hovered around the low $2.00 range and other energy prices were universally lower than they are now. In fact, prices were lower than they were in Biden’s presidency, even before the giant price hike following the Ukrainian war. That’s because Biden ended US energy independence in the pursuit of green energy on day one of his presidency. Spoiler: it didn’t work. Now we just import “dirty” energy instead of producing it. Green energy fails on an international scale because someone else will always produce the energy we won’t. That’s how capitalism works, and we’re losing the game.
Energy independence is vital to the Ukrainian conflict because the Ukrainian conflict affects more than just Ukraine. By producing its own energy, the US insulates itself from global unrest in markets and sets itself up to sell energy to countries overseas. The United States could sell oil to countries that need it, especially those countries that may be seriously considering an alliance with Russia purely for their energy needs. Fixing the energy crisis begins with the US.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put it best after he was offered an evacuation out of Kyiv by the United States: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”
Give this man his ammunition. And we’ll work on producing the oil.
