A test of will

It is vital that Washington walk and chew gum at the same time by implementing effective policies both overseas and domestically. American support for Kyiv is important for preserving the stability of countries that are friendly to the US and which offer an alternative model to the despotic systems seen today in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and Pyongyang

- TED GOVER

A year into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, should Washington continue to provide financial and military aid to Kyiv? 

President Biden’s February 20 trip to Kyiv was historic and lifted the spirits of the Ukrainian people. He is to be commended for this visit which demonstrated continued U.S. support for repelling Putin’s unprovoked invasion.

Yet, Biden appears to be losing public support for his efforts to help Ukraine. 47 per cent of Americans believe that the US should not provide more weapons and funding to Ukraine, according to a January 20-24 NBC poll.

Some Republicans ~ a minority but vocal group within the GOP, according to a January 4-6, 2023 CBS/YouGov survey ~ assert that it no longer serves America’s interests to continue providing U.S. taxpayer dollars and valuable munitions to Ukraine.

Others present a well-intentioned yet false choice argument that no additional funding for Ukraine should be appropriated while American households struggle with inflationary pressures affecting gasoline, school lunches, airline fares and groceries. These critics accuse allies in Europe of not spending enough on their own security and urge against further assistance to Kyiv while the US southern border is in a state of crisis and as health problems rise after the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

According to a January 1824, 2023 Pew Research Poll, 40 per cent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say that the US is providing too much support for Ukraine, up from 9 per cent who held this view in March 2022.

Many of these voices have resuscitated a line of reasoning that America ought to focus less on overseas issues and instead devote more attention to domestic problems ailing the country.