Letter to the Editor

After occupying Crimea in 2014 without any pushback from world powers, President Putin decided to invade Ukraine in the east in 2022. He and his puppet advisors thought the Russian military would quickly vanquish Ukraine, but the Ukrainians, with equipment support from NATO, have put up fierce resistance.

The destruction of civilian infrastructure by Russia has infuriated the Ukrainians and hardened the resolve of world powers to help Ukraine. The Ukrainians are fighting to preserve their country and have the advantage of territorial knowledge. Also, elements of the Russian army have tortured, sexually assaulted, and murdered Ukrainian civilians, which has stiffened Ukrainian resistance.

Ukraine is fighting an undeclared proxy war for NATO, and NATO military support could have a long-term impact on peace in Europe by standing up to Russian aggression in Ukraine. The supply of military equipment to Ukraine by NATO, including massive amounts of military hardware and ammunition by the U.S., has enabled it to conduct operations to defend the country. Additional sophisticated drones, anti-aircraft missiles, and long-range missiles should be added to the arsenal. We are obligated to help Ukraine because we convinced Ukraine in 1991 to give up its arsenal of nuclear weapons and send them to Russia in return for U.S. security guarantees.

NATO countries now realize they have to increase their military forces in response to Russian ambitions in Europe, and NATO should expeditiously approve Ukraine's admission and then deploy defensive military forces into Ukraine.

The U.S. has gained valuable military planning information about the Russian military, including the use of our weapons systems against them. This could help us in the future if we have to implement military planning and operations against Russian forces. Additionally, the Ukraine War is depleting Russia's military equipment and bloodying its military personnel.

Donald Moskowitz

Londonderry NH