Should the United States continue supporting Ukraine?

[AgnosticBoy]

Report from April 23, 2024 - Ukraine receives $61 billion dollars:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays
...
The legislation would also send $26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza, and $8 billion to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.
...
The $61 billion for Ukraine comes as the war-torn country desperately needs new firepower and as Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up his attacks.

- AP

Report from May 10, 2024 - Ukraine to receive another $400 million worth of support:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced a new $400 million package of military aid for Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the northeast Kharkiv region.

- AP

My point in bringing this topic up is not to take away from Russia being wrong to attack Ukraine, but rather it's to question if the US should be spending on Ukraine if it will eventually fall to Russia.

For Debate
Should the United States continue supporting Ukraine in their war against Russia? Why or why not?

Edit: I changed the debate question.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Should the United States continue supporting Ukraine in their war against Russia? Why or why not?

I was for the United States helping the Ukrainians defend themselves, but I would only support it to a certain extent. If there is no path to victory for Ukraine then the US should not continue supporting Ukraine. Unless the goal is to just weaken Russia, but even then I question is it worth it? Would Russia be weakened enough?

I watched a reporting today where Ukranian President Zelensky says that the US has restricted him on how he can attack Russia while Russia is able to hit him back in anyway. That to me seems like a recipe for failure, like fighting with one hand tied behind your back while letting your opponent use a bat.

Just to add to my view:
I honestly think Ukraine would love to see the West directly join the war against Russia. And Ukraine might try to push Putin to the point of using nukes or some big move, which is when the West might have to step in. The other alternative, and the better one, is for Russia to just withdraw due to the increasing pressure from Ukraine.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

With reports of 90% of Puerto Rico without power, I'm reminded of how all the money we're spending overseas for Ukraine could be better spent in the US. I'm at a point to where either we give Ukraine our full support by fighting with them or we do a massive scale down of our financial support to them (or get other UN countries to step up).

The billions that we're sending to them nearly every 3 to 6 months it seems can be spent in helping rebuild Puerto Rico's infrastructure and weeding out corruption.

I'm open to seeing this another way if someone can please explain to me why Puerto Rico's infrastructure, esp. since Hurricane Maria, hasn't been fixed up. If lack of money is the problem then I resort back to my point about our support for Ukraine and plenty of other foreign aid that we're spending on.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

This might be unpopular opinion, but I believe that either we reach a peace deal or just let Russia take over Ukraine. Of course, i'd prefer the former, but if not possible then I'd say just let the two duke it out on their own. Some might say that I'm not defending the democracy of Ukraine, but then I'd question if we're really willing to defend them at all costs. If we are not willing to defend Ukraine at all costs, but instead are setting them up for an unwinnable war - where Russia eventually takes over the entire country through a slow grind, is that worth it? And keep in mind, we're holding Ukraine back not only because NATO doesn't have troops on the ground fighting, but also we restrict the types of weapons that Ukraine can use (e.g. no long range Western weapons being used in Russia).

Whether or not it's worth it, I suppose would depend on who you ask. Everyone has their limits eventually. Some might ask what threat does allowing Russia take over Ukraine pose to NATO countries? If Western economies start tanking, then should we be funding an endless war?

 

[AgnosticBoy]

With reports of 90% of Puerto Rico without power, I'm reminded of how all the money we're spending overseas for Ukraine could be better spent in the US. I'm at a point to where either we give Ukraine our full support by fighting with them or we do a massive scale down of our financial support to them (or get other UN countries to step up).

Here's one good move from Trump that could change my mind... start getting paid *now* for any military aid instead of seemingly giving away billions for free or for some future hope of a repayment which we may never get...

The plan the president unveiled Monday – which would see European nations purchase American weapons, then transfer them to Ukraine – has been under discussion for months, ever since Trump won last year’s election and European officials quickly began deliberating on ways to sustain US weapons shipments to Ukraine under a leader who had vowed to pull back American support.

By selling weapons to European nations, rather than transferring them to Ukraine itself, Trump hopes to insulate himself from political criticism that he is reversing a campaign pledge to reduce the US role in the years-long war.

He is also expecting a financial windfall: Each Patriot missile system costs roughly $1 billion, and he has already touted the profits for the US as part of the scheme.

American officials also noted it would be quicker to get the Patriot systems to Ukraine if they are already in Europe as opposed to moving them from the United States or producing them new at a US factory.

Source: CNN

One question is, why couldn't a deal like this be done under Biden's administration?

I mean I'm against these forever wars either way, mainly if there's no real threat to the US nor any plan to win (Russia still will have nukes at the end of the day).