Young and Bucshon: Congress must stand with and continue supporting Ukraine, Israel

Free nations, Dwight Eisenhower observed, “must stand together or they shall fall separately.”

Bad actors who bully their neighbors, redraw borders unilaterally and topple democracies resemble a contagion that grows and spreads. Unchecked, their aggression emboldens other foes of freedom and triggers ever more destabilizing conflicts, evidenced by the recent Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.

If American power and will recede as dangers grow in Europe and the Middle East, rogue nations will fill the vacuum. Isolationists on the right and left may wish to look away, but, as Eisenhower knew, America can’t dodge the consequences.

This is the foundational reason for America’s support of Israel against Hamas and support of Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and why that support must continue.

Despite long odds, Ukraine has mounted a remarkable defense and now an aggressive counteroffensive against Russia’s vastly larger army. What the Ukrainian people lacked in firepower, they made up in will.

But will alone is not enough. Support from the United States and our allies has played a crucial role in holding back Russia’s invasion.

While there is bipartisan support for providing aid to Israel, Congress is currently debating whether to continue similar assistance to Ukraine. If it ends, we will be giving Vladimir Putin the upper hand in his war on the Ukrainian people and inviting disaster.

The Russian president once called the end of the Soviet Union a “geopolitical catastrophe,” and has compared himself to Russian Emperor Peter the Great – who founded the Russian Empire and greatly expanded the boundaries of the Russian state through conquest. This is a window into Putin’s ambitions. The onslaught of February 2022 was not the first shot fired in this dream. Previously, in Georgia and then Crimea, he sought to redraw the map and forcibly expand this empire. Even now, Ukraine is just one piece of the project. Neighboring nations like the Baltic States or even Poland could be next, which would draw the U.S. military directly into conflict with Russia due to our NATO commitments.

America is providing assistance and equipment, not manpower, as Ukraine fights for its freedom. However, a Russian victory over Ukraine and expansion into Europe would quickly change America’s obligation, requiring us to send troops. By helping Ukraine defeat Russia, we are preventing a larger war in Europe and avoiding sending American soldiers to fight there — or elsewhere. At the same time, as a global commercial power, American jobs and economic prosperity are undermined by a conflict in Europe. The outcome of this European conflict will not be confined to Europe.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a keen interest in our commitment to Ukraine. Its president, Xi Jinping, vows to reclaim Taiwan, including by force if necessary. An invasion of the democratically-governed island and the primary source of advanced semiconductors critical to America’s national defense and economic welfare would sever supply chains, cripple our economy and undermine security and stability in the Asia-Pacific. If our partners in Taiwan are not able to deter this conflict, America would have no choice but to defend Taiwan, igniting a global war costing countless lives and trillions of dollars.

China’s designs on Taiwan depend in no small part on Russia’s success in Ukraine. If the West continues its support, we display a credible commitment to stopping the ambitions of authoritarian regimes, demonstrating to the CCP that it is strategically unwise to invade Taiwan.

But if America abandons Ukraine, the CCP will conclude that we would do the same to Taiwan. Our aid to Ukraine helps serve as a deterrent to China’s ambitions.

Some claim we are wasting money in Ukraine, but it is important to consider the limited scope of America’s investment. While budgetary and humanitarian assistance has been provided, the vast majority of our support has been physical weapons of war. This is far from a blank check.

Still, it is critical that American taxpayers are confident their hard-earned money is not misappropriated. Countless resources and hundreds of auditors and inspectors are already ensuring the proper use of both military hardware and humanitarian funds.

Another common argument against assisting Ukraine is that it diverts money needed to secure the broken southern border. Stopping the flood of immigrants illegally entering America is largely a matter of resolve, not a lack of available resources. The cause of the crisis at our border does not rest in Ukraine but rather the White House.

We can simultaneously support Ukraine and better secure our border. The Biden Administration simply has no interest in doing the latter, and given our divided government, Republicans currently do not possess the leverage to force substantial policy changes. The catastrophe at the border is of President Biden’s making. Ending it requires a reversal of President Biden’s lax and ineffective border policies, not deserting Ukraine.

If Congress ends America’s support for Ukraine, it would exponentially increase the likelihood of a larger war in Europe, which would require American boots on the ground and complicate our ability to assist Israel with its fight against Hamas. Our withdrawal would be welcome news in Moscow, where Putin plots a new Russian empire, and in Beijing, where Xi eyes Taiwan.

This is the choice America faces: continue our support for Ukraine and security and stability in Europe, or end our assistance and invite much larger and costlier conflicts — ones that, as Eisenhower predicted, will find their way to us soon enough.

Todd Young is a U.S Senator from Indiana. Larry Bucshon is a U.S. representative for Indiana's 8th congressional district.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Op/Ed: Why it's in the US' interest to support Ukraine, Israel