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Sacrificing Ukraine
Why the West’s cynical strategy in Ukraine will ultimately be a disaster for everyone
Complacent Westerners have already moved on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and are now back to the usual diet of scare stories, celebrity gossip, and articles about fires and droughts. But Ukrainians don’t have the luxury of forgetting Russia’s dismemberment of their nation and the abduction, torture, and murder of thousands of Ukrainian citizens. As far as complacent Westerners are concerned, arms are being sent to Ukraine and so Russia will lose. The fact that Russia continues to make gains is conveniently ignored.
So why is Russia continuing to make gains when sensation-seeking Western media organizations babble about HIMARS and the USA is pretending to support Ukraine to the tune of $54 billion? What is causing the discrepancy between Western self-soothing fantasy and hard on-the-ground reality?
First of all, a huge amount of money isn’t actually going to Ukraine at all. Nine billion dollars is earmarked for (you guessed it) the US military, to replenish stocks of weapons being sent to Ukraine. Another $1.7 billion is aid to children and other social items. $8.1 billion is to be spent on (you guessed it again) paying for US forces stationed in Poland and elsewhere in Europe. $4 billion is being spent on buying…