Western leaders ought to take escalation over Ukraine seriously

While the United States and Europe have taken significant action to assist Ukraine and pressure Russia, there is increasing pressure to “do more.” With Russian war crimes in plain sight and Ukraine unable to trade with the world to sustain its economy, many feel a moral imperative to intervene and end the war. Simultaneously, continued Ukrainian success on the battlefield has some believing that with more support the Ukrainians can outright defeat Russia, pushing its forces back over the border without making any concessions.

Together, these motivations have led many to advocate for a more muscular U.S. policy. Gérard Araud, the former French ambassador to Washington, recently suggested that NATO inform Moscow that if Odesa is attacked (which it already has been, it should be noted), the alliance will intervene militarily. Michael McFaul tweeted that the best way to avoid future conflict with Russia is to help Ukraine stop Putin now, on the battlefield. Anne Applebaum forcefully argued that the goal in Ukraine should not be a truce or long-term resistance, but an outright Ukrainian victory. Eliot Cohen agrees, arguing that a Ukrainian victory would lead to a new balance in Europe and that “the West must aim to break Russia’s societal will through the grinding up of its army and the devastation of its economy.” Charli Carpenter sounded a clarion call for Western military intervention as the only way to protect civilians from further war crimes. High-ranking Biden administration officials have begun to talk about dramatically weakening Russia rather than just defending Ukraine, and while President Joe Biden says he wants to limit escalation, his messaging is undercut by provision of powerful weapon systems intended to target Russian forward command posts.

Read the full post written by Michael Lopate and Bear Braumoeller