American voters are not interested in living among Russian narratives

I remember the photos of all those who are waiting every day for artillery, air defence equipment in cities that have been and will be attacked by Russia in the coming weeks, and soldiers who have to fight with a 1 to 10 ratio of shells. We have lost time, lives, square kilometres.

But the problem remains that no one should support us and will not if we look like a hopeless security investment.

Russia should have been kicked in the teeth for violating international law and other people's borders in Crimea in 2014, then there would have been fewer losses and no funds would have been needed for a long, exhausting war. All any Western leader would have to do today is to assess the extent of their losses and fatigue if Ukraine loses this war on its own territory. All we have to do is assess the interest of those who can and do have the resources to support us in this war, and seek the most mutually beneficial side of the story with them. Logic should also force us to look for non-linear means of fighting David against Goliath.

Geopolitics, like politics, is about interests. Nothing new, but even more obvious.

I sincerely and humanly thank each and every one in the Congress who voted in favour, each and every one who trampled the linoleum in the corridors to reach out to congressmen, wrote articles, gave comments, stood in the streets with posters. It's not a victory yet, but we are one moment away from losing everything we value.

It's not about money, it's about the means of survival and self-defence. I was very sorry to hear the speeches of those who were against it. They mostly know what they are doing, so let history put everything in its place. It is not in the interest of their voters to live along with Russian myths and narratives, or to drown in propaganda. It is in the interests of the US and its voters to see Ukraine win, as well as peace in Europe, and not to send American soldiers to the European continent to defend NATO's borders.

Not only in Ukraine, the election period is quite toxic and categorical in terms of statements and positions of those who want to be liked or win. Therefore, we need to continue to work on communications:

• support for Ukraine is beneficial to voters and the defence industry in the US, and its scale is disproportionate to its capabilities;
• investing in Ukraine's security is about Europe, NATO and America, minimising military, financial, political and human losses;
• the world is globalised thanks to the United States, so it is an illusion of security to close oneself in one's own district;
• Ukraine now has the largest system of transparency in spending partners' funds, and it has not found any abuses, and the security package provides for the supply of weapons, not money, and these funds cannot be transferred anywhere else;
• today, with a high degree of probability, you have saved someone's life with your tax dollar: a child in bed who will not be killed by a Russian missile or drone because air defence systems will work, a military man and an unborn Ukrainian without whom this country cannot be rebuilt, you have protected the grain that will be delivered to Africa...

This is a war of survival and destruction, it has no political or diplomatic solution. Everyone must stand up for the defence, for legitimate self-defence against the evil that has already created an alliance and is acting very coherently and effectively.

Source

About the author. Olha Aivazovska, Chair of the Board of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM)

The editors do not always share the views expressed by the authors of the blogs.