It’s time to stop giving Ukraine what we think they need and give them what they want

“I need ammunition, not a ride.,” was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s response to offers from the West to evacuate him and his family following Putin’s invasion of his country in February 2022.

Since this unjustified and needless invasion began, the Ukrainian people have been more than effective in their leadership, maneuvers and their use of ordnance and NATO assistance. By doing so much with so little, Ukraine’s military and volunteers have proven they are more than deserving of support from the West. 

That’s why the United States and NATO must immediately change our strategy. We need to stop offering Ukrainians what we think they need — and give them what they want. Their military and civilian volunteers have more than earned it. We owe them long range missiles for ground attacks and air defense, as well as MiG 29s for the short term and, as soon as we can send them, F-16s for the long haul. 

Fortunately, the Defense Production Act authorizes the president to fast-track the buildup of war stocks and the sending of munitions and supplies to our friends in Ukraine. The administration must make use of these powers — and do so now. With a well-equipped Ukraine, fighting with dogged determination on Russia’s western flank, and the United States Navy patrolling the Pacific to its east, Moscow’s impotent autocrat will be forced to think twice before continuing his brutal crusade. 

The one-year anniversary of this unwarranted invasion is the ideal time to supply our friends in Ukraine with every piece of equipment they’ve requested. One year ago, analysts from every professional background and from every point on the ideological spectrum anticipated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces raising their flag over Kiev in a matter of days. With minimal foreign aid and without any commitment of U.S. or NATO troops, Ukraine has stopped Russia’s forces in its tracks, dashing Putin’s hopes of any westward expansion and holding the line for a full year. If that sort of skill and bravery isn’t worthy of a helping hand, I’m not sure I know what is.

Remember, Ukraine isn’t just fighting to save itself, but the very idea of democracy. For years, the Kremlin has been assailing Western democracies with cyber-attacks and sophisticated misinformation campaigns. Ukraine, sitting as it does on Russia’s front step, is now bearing the brunt of Putin’s most aggressive attack on democracy to date, with a ground assault on their territory. The Ukrainian people are most definitely defending their land and themselves from the Russian army, but they’re also defending Western democracy on behalf of us all.

When Ukrainians resist Russian aggression, they are defending democracy with their lives. They are quite literally doing the hard work on their own. That’s why lending funds, equipment and expertise is the least that we in the West can do. When we send surface-to-air missile batteries to the front or bring Ukrainian soldiers stateside to train on the patriot missile system, we are doing our part to defend democracy against a raging autocrat without breaking the bank or risking American lives. It’s a conservative investment if ever there were one. 

The war is not just one between autocracy and democracy, but also between an immoral petro-state and a sustainable climate future for us all. Russia’s power comes from only two things: oil and gas. When we hold the line in Ukraine, sanction Russian fossil fuels and invest in renewables, we are containing the spread of authoritarianism and slowing the rate of climate change.

The ambitions of an autocrat know no bounds. Were Putin to take Ukraine, there is no sign that he would respect its western boundaries any more than he has respected its eastern border. To stop Putin, defend democracy and save our climate, Ukraine must stand — and we, as Americans, must stand with Ukraine. 

Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (Ret.) is the former commander of the U.S. First Army. He now leads The Green Army, a nonprofit dedicated to finding solutions to pollution.