The Foreign Service Journal, October 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2022 23 suffered brutal oppression, discrimination, manmade famine, genocide, political purge, nuclear disaster, and now armed inva- sion with its atrocities and war crimes. They have been indepen- dent for 30 years and are fighting and dying to remain free. The first line of independent Ukraine’s national anthem includes this: “Ukraine is not dead yet.” They all know the words and sing them with fervor. Why is U.S. support so important? The U.S. interest is clear: Ukraine must win this war. First, Ukraine is fighting for its freedom and independence, indeed its very existence. It is fighting an autocratic, oppressive, expansion- ist Russia, a nation with centuries of history of imperialist wars against its neighbors. Should Russia win, European nations— NATO allies—would be directly threatened. Second, respect for rules of international relations—sover- eignty, sanctity of borders, peaceful resolution of disputes— largely kept the peace among major powers in Europe for 69 years after World War II. Russia grossly violated those principles, treaties, norms, and commitments when it invaded Ukraine in 2014. To reestablish that international order, Russia must with- draw from internationally recognized Ukrainian territory. All nations, big or small, are sovereign. No nation is more sovereign due to its size. Nations should not have to live in fear of invasion from their neighbors. Enforcing that principle, as an interna- tional coalition did when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, will make the world more secure. We Americans support our diplomats and our armed forces— the soldiers, sailors, marines, and pilots—who defend our nation and protect our security overseas. They are on the front lines. In the same way, Americans should support Ukraine; it is on the front line for democracy and the West. Is there a diplomatic solution to the war? When the time is right, there might be—although if the Russians stage sham referenda in an attempt to annex Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, no negotiations will be possible. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he’d be willing to sit down with President Putin when Russian forces have pulled back at least to their positions on Feb. 23. Any decision to negotiate will have to be made by Ukrainians and President Zelenskyy, not by Ameri- cans or Europeans. Some Europeans and Americans are pushing Ukraine to agree to a cease-fire to end the fighting. Some go fur- ther and urge the Ukrainians to concede some territory to Russia to facilitate a peace treaty. I think this is wrong. A cease-fire now would reward the Russians for their illegal “A DOVE HAS SPREAD HER WINGS AND ASKS FOR PEACE,” BY MARIA PRIMACHENKO WIKIOO.ORG -THEENCYCLOPEDIAOFFINEARTS