Fiery Stalemate Threatens to Destroy East Ukraine as US Weapons Pour In

In a recent television interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “victory will be bloody,” but Ukraine will not allow Russia to control Ukrainian cities and territories seized in its brutal invasion of his country. Zelenskyy stated to the U.S.-based outlet Axios Ukraine on Monday must “hold the line” or NATO countries, such as Latvia and Estonia, will be Russia’s next targets, which could force the United States to deploy troops in Eastern Europe under NATO’s collective defense rules.

Zelenskyy is using the threat of U.S. soldiers dying overseas to keep Americans’ attention and shore up U.S. support for the long haul. After striking success against a much bigger enemy, Ukraine now wants to push Russia off every inch disputed territory. This includes the destroyed city Mariupol now under Russian rule and the eastern Donbas where Russian-backed separatists and Ukraine have fought since 2014. Critics of both the left- and right-leaning parties warned the Biden administration about the possibility of conflict with Russia. But Zelenskyy believes that a wider war will be more likely if the U.S. continues to supply weapons and military assistance to Ukraine.

“We have no way out of this situation,” Zelenskyy added.

Some on the Ukrainian left, including members of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, believe that the U.S. arms transfers only escalate the conflict and push both sides further away form negotiating a ceasefire.

The horrifying war of attrition threatens to drag on for months or years as fighting in Ukraine’s south and east rages and Russia bombardsCities and towns to make way for more attacks. The United States is flooding Ukraine with weapons and military aid at an unprecedented level. This is raising questions about whether it is protecting a war-torn ally, or pushing Ukrainians to become cannon fodder in a complex and dangerous proxy conflict with Russia.

Biden administration officials have said the U.S. wants Ukraine to “win” the war and weakenThe Russian military, longstanding goalNATO alliance, which is led by the U.S. The conflict has divided left-leaning circles across Europe as well as the U.S., as leftists in the Ukrainian resistance join Zelenskyy. clamoringFor shipments of arms to combat an authoritarian intruder.

“The lack of weapons will not stop the war, but will only lead to more civilian casualties, kidnappings and torture in the occupied territories, a humanitarian catastrophe, and more waves of refugees,” reads a recent statement posted on Telegram by Operation Solidarity, a group made up of leftist and antiauthoritarian civil volunteers who provide assistance to cities in Ukraine that are being battered.

In contrast, Ukrainian pacifists are protesting Ukraine’s mandatory military mobilization under martial law while calling on both sides to declare a ceasefire and restart negotiations before more lives are lost. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Pope Francis, international antiwar coalitions, and leaders of countries across the world have also urged Ukraine and Russia to call a ceasefire and resume peace talksThat was weeks ago.

“In my view, U.S. taxpayers should know about weapons supplies to Ukraine, that indeed it escalates the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, it increases risk of direct confrontation between two nuclear superpowers, U.S. and Russia, and it has bad impact on economy and ecology of United States as well as global negative impact,” said Yurii Sheliazhenko, executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, in an email.

Zelenskyy is also available says that the war will “certainly” end in diplomacy. However, it’s been increasingly difficult to arrange a meeting with Putin, especially after Russian forces committed atrocities against civilians in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, and other cities. Now that the Ukrainian resistance has embarrassed a much stronger Russian military, recent statements indicate that Zelenskyy seems to be aiming for a bloody “victory” followed by diplomacy, rather than a quick ceasefire and negotiated settlement.

This agreement would end violence, but it would likely give up some territory in Ukraine near the eastern border. Russia already annexed the Crimean Peninsula to Russia in 2014 without much resistance. Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to control the Donbas Region in desperate search of a concession to justify war. a land bridge to CrimeaThis would create a security buffer between an increasingly isolated Moscow, NATO-allied countries in Europe.

Billions of Dollars’ Worth of U.S. Weapons since 2014.

Already, the U.S. military spends on Ukraine is well overThe aid sent to Egypt, Afghanistan, and Israel. More than 2,000 aid packages were sent by the U.S. $3.9 billionBefore Congress approved a $40 billion package of aid by President Biden this Week, the U.S. had supplied weapons to Ukraine in an amount worth about $2.5 billion. includesMinimum $6 billion in military assistance, and at least $9 billion to replenish U.S. arms stockpiles after the transfer to Ukraine.

The U.S. is the world’s top arms dealer, and weapons sales and transfers are central to U.S. foreign policy across the world.

U.S. weapon transfers to Ukraine are not an entirely new phenomenon. Zelenskyy pleaded for more U.S. arms long before Putin invaded Ukraine in February. Since 2014, Ukraine has been in a civil war with separatists and Russian military forces in the Donbas region. The U.S. began funneling $6.5 billion in security aid to the country over the last eight years. accordingAccording to the State Department. The war came after a proRussian president was ousted and pitted the U.S. & Russia against each other in an a diplomatic proxy fight.

In an infamous call with former President Donald Trump in 2019, Zelenskyy asked for more Javelin missile systems — the same anti-tank weapons that have successfully thwarted Russian invaders. Trump agreed, but the former president said Zelenskyy must “do us a favor” first. This favor was, of course digging up dirt about Joe Biden, the Democrat Trump intended to run against for reelection. A whistleblower complaint led the second unsuccessful attempt to impeach Trump.

U.S.-made Howitzers, artillery rounds, laser guided rocket systems, battle drones and Stinger and Javelin missile system, as well as a variety of smaller arms, are now all available. made itto the frontlines in Ukraine. Since the civil war started in 2014, illicit arms trade has increased in Ukraine. This raises concerns about loose weapons capable of destroying buildings and taking down commercial planes. accordingTo the Washington Post. The war is a boon to U.S. arms producers, who collectively spend billions lobbying Congress.

Sheliazhenko stated that the war is causing a great deal of suffering for the Ukrainian people, something that is not often discussed in Western media. Men aged 18-60 are not allowed to leave the country. This forces fleeing families at the border to separate. According to a, there are no legal exemptions that would allow pacifists refusing military service to flee abroad. letterSheliazhenko was awarded by state officials. Recently, a transgender lady was honored. reportedAfter Ukrainian border guards determined that she was a man, she was strip searched and refused entry to Poland.

Sheliazhenko points out an official petitionWith more than 27,000 signatures calling for Zelenskyy to end mandatory military mobilization. Wealthy men are able to bribe their way out of the country, and even as volunteers wait in long lines at military enlistment offices, recruiters “hunt down men … near shopping malls” and summon them to war.

“For what purpose? Only bribes — logic does not suggest anything else,” reads the petition, which urges Zelenskyy to open the border for all Ukrainians, prioritize volunteer conscripts and crack down on corruption.

Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, which train civilians to defend against Russia, are blurring the line between civilian and combatant. Russian forces have killed, tortured and incarcerated civilians. executed menThey are suspected of arming themselves against the invasion. Yet, many Ukrainians are still eager to resist Putin’s invasion. A member from a Territorial Defense Unit near Kyiv said that fighters who returned from the frontlines reported feeling more positive after receiving U.S. weaponry and were eager to share their knowledge with others.

“Weapons Are Only About Death”

Operation Solidarity volunteers delivered food to the beleaguered residents in Chernihiv. This northeastern Ukrainian city was besieged by Russian forces during the early days of war. The Russian army destroyed over 1,000 homes as well as critical civilian infrastructure in Chernihiv, according to the group’s posts on Telegram. In a previous post, Operation Solidarity appealed to leftists across Europe to support their government’s efforts to arm Ukraine with weapons and protective equipment. The group said many people in Europe, especially in antiwar movements, will condemn Putin’s aggression, but are not prepared to supply the Ukrainian resistance due to concerns over “militarism.” The group posted this statement:

War is a surefire way to increase military budgets. However, arms supplies aren’t always under control and weapons are generally about death. It’s hard to disagree with this. But it is important to clarify that it wasn’t the Ukrainian people who chose this path. Only to defend ourselves against the authoritarian regime that razes cities and kills their inhabitants, weapons and military equipment are necessary.

Operation Solidarity, the war, demonstrates that the world requires a new antiwar movement, pushing all countries to abandon offensive and nuclear weapons. Not just smaller countries like Ukraine. agreedTo remove Soviet-era nuclear weapons from its territory in 1992. In the group’s view, a Russian victory would signal to other belligerent countries that nuclear weapons and a larger military are enough to invade a weaker neighbor with impunity, which could spark a global arms race.

“The presence of an aggressor state, one that has achieved its goals through military means, will lead to an even more significant expansion of military budgets, an increased concentration of weapons at the borders of Russia and Europe, and a constant threat of world destruction in a nuclear war,” the group said. “This cannot be acceptable for any anti-war movement.”

But, Russia and the U.S. have been involved in an arms race in Ukraine at least since 2014. Putin’s invasion finally tipped the scales, and the U.S. responded with massive shipments of weapons and other supplies. As Zelenskyy tours the world via videoconference asking for support, Ukraine’s armed forces are using these weapons to push back against Russian troops, whose failure to overrun the capital city of Kyiv inspired the West to bet on a Ukrainian victory.

The battle for the Donbas is still raging. It will take generations to heal the wounds it has left.