A Similar Series I Wrote in 2023

Like the rest of the world, I hope for the gospel to spread to and in both Russia and the Ukraine.  Jesus will some day reign over the whole earth and bring true peace.  In the meantime, nations must operate together in a sin-cursed world and James 4:1-2 regularly comes true:

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

War is the reality of this age, yet something nations should attempt to avoid, not at all costs though.  What about the war between Russia and Ukraine?  Some call it a proxy war between Russia and the United States. Europe, right on the doorstep of Ukraine, does not pay for the war despite its close proximity.  Neither does it send any of its own men to die with the Ukrainians in their fight against Russia.

It’s easy to sympathize with evangelical believers in Ukraine.  Men spread the gospel, make disciples, train leaders, and churches start in that country.  Many, I’m sure, are sadly dying in this war.  Whatever good thoughts and genuine prayers for the believers of Ukraine, this is not the basis for making a decision on what’s right for the United States to do in this situation.  Thousands of Christians inhabited the Roman Empire when it fell.

Before I launch into my opinion on the conflict, I will sketch out some history for us to consider.

History

Pre World War 2

Historians agree that Russia started by at least the 10th century.  Kyiv, now Ukraine, was a vital part of the earliest iteration of Russia between 882 and 1240, when the Mongols invaded. Ivan the Terrible later became the first Tsar of Russia in 1547.  Peter the Great declared the Russian Empire in 1721 at which time Kyiv became a part.  Kyiv remained in Russia until the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 during World War I (see map of Europe in 1910).  Ukraine briefly became independent, embracing Communism.

Ukraine was a founding republic of the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922. Its borders were adjusted several times during the Soviet period based on administrative decisions made in Moscow.  Following World War 2, various international treaties changed Ukraine’s borders further (with little to no world protest) as it gained territories such as Western Ukraine from Poland and parts from Romania and Czechoslovakia due to shifting post-war boundaries.

Post World War 2

U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had earlier granted the Soviet Union diplomatic recognition in 1933.  Later at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 toward the end of World War 2, he, Churchill, and Stalin discussed post-war arrangements for Europe. They drew lines of occupation controlled by each Allied power. This agreement inherently acknowledged that much of Eastern Europe would fall under Soviet influence, and then it did.

Roosevelt wanted to maintain a cooperative relationship with Stalin to ensure Soviet participation in the war against Japan and then post-war peace efforts.  This is a reason he opted for the Soviets to capture Berlin first, thinking that would strengthen the U.S. position in negotiations over post-war Europe.  FDR, a Democrat, the socialist leaning, liberal political party of the United States jettisoned regions like Ukraine to Stalin.

Post Cold War and NATO Expansion

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, NATO expanded several times to include former Eastern Bloc countries and Baltic states, which Russia perceived and still perceives as a breach of trust based on early assurances from the United States that this would not occur.  At a handshake level, American diplomats, such as James Baker, assured Russia against NATO expansion past Eastern Germany.  Russia believes the West violated an implicit agreement that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe to which Putin often refers as justification for his actions.

Many compare the threat of NATO expansion to the Russia border and Ukraine to the Soviets placing nuclear missiles in Cuba.  The United States would not allow it.

Motivation

A common refrain in discussions of Russia and Ukraine is an expression of democracy.  The United States must support democracy across the world.  One could call this a doctrine of foreign policy.  The present administration at least questions this doctrine and its consistency in Europe.  Europe claims democracy, but it looks like “selective democracy,” which isn’t democracy at all.  J.D. Vance in a speech in Munich brought out the selectiveness of European freedom, especially targeting religious freedom and freedom of speech.  I haven’t heard really any answer on this from Europe.

Thousands are dying in Ukraine and will keep dying.  Ukraine will not win the war.  I’m not saying Russia did well in this war, but they committed to it, have more people, and enough money to keep making weapons.  Could Ukraine win?  No.  Not just Europe, but the U. S. military would need to join in the fight.  Europe does not show a true commitment to Ukraine.  It pretends commitment with no endgame.  At most Ukraine could inflict more damage on Russia, a very risky proposition, because Russia has nuclear weapons and a growing incentive to use them.

European Support

After the Zelensky live-televised oval office meeting with the President and others, Zelensky travelled to Europe to receive immediate support from European leaders.  What does this mean?  Europe has no serious proposal.  It barely supported Ukraine.  It dedicates an infinitesimal percentage of its budget to its own defense.  Europe didn’t send troops to fight with Ukraine.  Nations like the United Kingdom don’t protect their own borders, let alone Ukraine.  They have emaciated, weak militaries that alone might serve as a speed bump for Russia.

From my perspective, by supporting Zelensky in public, albeit pretend support, Europe disrespected the present government of the United States, which represents the American people according to a democratic vote.  Europe wants American support without giving America respect.  European leaders like Starmer and Macron, and then the Canadian Trudeau, undermine a possible peace between Russia and Ukraine to stop this war.  They do this without any realistic alternative.

I don’t know of one poll that asks whether the citizens of these European countries want to send troops to join Ukraine to die in its fight against Russia.  Why isn’t that question being asked?  It’s obvious.  Everyone knows that not one nation wants a part of that.  The support for Ukraine is a pretend support, essentially a lie.  European support for Ukraine means less than nothing.  The left and neo-cons in the United States and its media join them in this mass deception.

More to Come