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Susan Collins represents Maine in the U.S. Senate. She is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
This column was adapted from Collins’ speech on the Senate floor Tuesday calling for continued support of Ukraine
On Feb. 24, 2022, without justification, without provocation, Russia launched a full-scale, brutal invasion of its democratic neighbor, Ukraine, with missiles, air assaults, and army divisions. As John Adams said, “facts are stubborn things.” And the facts of what happened on that terrible day are undeniable — it was Russia which started the war.
Many thought that Ukraine had no chance against the perceived might of the Russian Armed Forces. However, the Ukrainians fought so bravely against that initial onslaught, and since then, the West has come together with speed and clarity of purpose to support Ukraine.
Sen. Mitch McConnell stated it best last week by saying, “Russia’s horrible invasion of Ukraine has had a unifying effect on the world’s democracies.”
As a result of the invasion, two nations, Sweden and Finland, joined NATO. Eastern Europe is completing a pivot away from Russia’s energy sources. And NATO allies are surging to the 2 percent GDP goal for defense spending.
As for the brave Ukrainians, they pushed back the initial Russian invaders and are now doing their best to hold the line in eastern Ukraine, despite Russian soldiers, ammunitions, and UAVs far outnumbering their Ukrainian counterparts. Ukraine decimated the Russian Black Sea Fleet and has forced Russia to augment its forces with North Korean soldiers and Iranian weapons systems.
But despite the successes in the past three years, the war drags on with devastating consequences. 390,000 Ukrainians have been wounded, with more than 46,000 deaths so far. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian families have been displaced, and estimates are that more than 12,600 civilian Ukrainians have lost their lives. In many cases, they were targeted by the Russians.
It is not American troops who are dying on the Ukrainian front lines. It is the Ukrainians who are courageously defending their country, their democracy, their way of life. And their defenses directly connect to our efforts in NATO and the defense of Eastern Europe.
If Vladimir Putin is allowed to succeed in Ukraine, as several of my colleagues have pointed out, he will not stop there. He will continue to pursue his dream, his goal, of recreating the former Soviet Union. He has made that crystal clear.
In my judgment, he would most likely seize Moldova next, again invade Georgia, as he did in 2008, threaten the Baltic states, and menace Poland and Finland. The best way to ensure that the United States is not drawn into a larger regional war in Europe, which would directly threaten American troops, is by helping Ukraine defend itself against this unprovoked invasion.
The national security supplemental appropriations package that was signed into law last year included $15.4 billion to help Ukraine purchase American-made weapons. It is strengthening our military readiness, rebuilding our industrial base, and assisting our partners and allies at a volatile and dangerous time in world history.
For the past three years, we have heard repeatedly the myth that somehow the European countries were not doing their part in helping to equip Ukraine. But let’s take a look at the facts. As a percentage of GDP, the United States ranks 17th, 17th in support for Ukraine. The top three countries include Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia.
These NATO nations are all in on supporting Ukraine’s defenses, because they understand that the stakes are so high. Furthermore, NATO allies have committed more than $185 billion to buy weapons and defense systems produced right here in the United States, which helps us sustain good jobs and strengthens the industrial base.
Both the Biden Administration’s slow-walking of the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and the Trump Administration’s pausing military aid and intelligence sharing sent the wrong signal to an aggressive Russia. The decision Tuesday afternoon to restart U.S. military aid and intelligence-sharing are welcome steps to strengthening Ukraine’s position in negotiations. With the tentative ceasefire signed by Ukraine and now up for Russia’s concurrence, resumed aid and intelligence-sharing with our ally Ukraine allows that country to be in a much stronger position moving forward.
History is filled with examples of well-intentioned leaders who sought to avoid war, but who actually made war more likely by refusing to recognize the evil with which they were confronted. Neville Chamberlain declared “peace in our time” trying to appease Germany before World War II. We should not make the same mistake today by appeasing Russia. We cannot avert our eyes. We cannot leave an ally to fend for itself. And we must show resolve to deter possible future aggression by China, Iran, and North Korea.
Our adversaries are watching closely our response in Ukraine.
