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Invited essay
By Lloyd J. Austin III and Antony J. Blinken
Mr. Austin is the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Blinken is the Secretary of State.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia appalled the world with his full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago. He planned to topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government, install a Kremlin puppet regime and expose the West as weak, divided and diminished.
After more than 1,000 days of reckless war led by Putin, it has failed to achieve a single one of its strategic objectives. Russia’s strength and influence are greatly diminished; it may not even be a valuable consumer like Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. Meanwhile, Ukraine presents itself as a lax and sovereign democracy, strong and provocative, with an economy rooted in the West.
All this is a testament to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops and the strength of Ukraine’s people. It is also the product of steadfast American leadership, which has rallied allies and partners worldwide to help Ukraine survive the Kremlin’s imperial onslaught. The United States should build on this historic success, not squander it.
Mr. Putin assumed that the world would stand by when he sent his troops across the Ukrainian border. He was wrong. The United States has rallied some 50 countries from around the planet to help Ukraine defend itself — and to uphold the bedrock principle that borders may not be redrawn by force. One of us, Secretary Austin, has convened the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a global coalition that has coordinated military support to Ukraine, 25 times. Its members have committed $126 billion in direct security assistance to Ukraine, almost half of which has come from non-U.S. members.
As a percentage of GDP, more than a dozen members of the Touch organization now provide more security assistance to Ukraine than to the United States. And those investments in Ukraine are generating returns on investment here, strengthening our defense trade base and creating jobs. Putin’s aggression has even brought about the outcome he sought to avoid: NATO is now bigger, more powerful, and more united than ever.
As a result, Ukraine has held out against the world’s second-largest military, despite Putin’s reckless escalations and irresponsible nuclear saber rattling. Ukraine fought brilliantly even when China, the world’s second largest economy, argued. Putin; while Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, has armed it with missiles and drones; and North Korea, the world’s largest nuclear-armed rogue state, has provided it with ammunition and some 10,000 troops.
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