One year ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine and launched an armed conflict that still shows few signs of abating.
The current phase of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict began in February 2014, but Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, marked a significant escalation in the war.
Twelve months in, neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have indicated any intention to back down from the conflict.
“Animosity between Russia and Ukraine could sustain this conflict for a long time,” said Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, according to NPR.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, President Joe Biden recently visited Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as an international display of solidarity.
“One year later, Kyiv stands,” said Biden, as reported by AP News. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”
Since the Russian invasion one year ago, the United States has committed about $113 billion of U.S. taxpayer money to Ukraine, including $67 billion in military aid and $46 billion in non-defense financial and humanitarian aid.
During Biden’s visit to Kyiv, the American president pledged an additional $460 million in security assistance to Ukraine. The United States has sent more funds to Ukraine than any other nation.
The day after Biden’s visit, two North Texas congressmen, Reps. Keith Self (R) and Jake Ellzey (R), were part of a congressional delegation that traveled to Kyiv to express support to President Zelenskyy, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The Dallas Express reached out to both representatives for comment but received no response by the time of publication.
Critics, including some in Congress, argue the billions of dollars of aid sent to Ukraine by the Biden administration and Congress constitute an improper allocation of American taxpayer dollars.
“What I’d like to see is, we can stop [sending] over a billion dollars every single month to the government of Ukraine, and propping their government up,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told CNN. “We’ve spent $113 billion in the war over there, and this hasn’t [done] anything for our border, our people.”
Earlier this month, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), along with 10 other legislators including Greene, introduced the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution which, if passed, would express that the House of Representatives supports terminating military and financial aid to Ukraine and urges both Ukraine and Russia to negotiate a peace agreement.
“America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war,” said Gaetz. “We must suspend all foreign aid for the War in Ukraine and demand that all combatants in this conflict reach a peace agreement immediately.”
However, even other Republicans believe supporting Ukraine should be a top priority for the United States.
“Defeating the Russians in Ukraine is the single most important event going on in the world right now,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview with Fox News. “I am sorry public opinion is sliding, but I want to reassure the American people this enormously important.”
He continued, “We need to stay together on a bipartisan basis in our country and defend these people who are bravely fighting for freedom and democracy in Ukraine.”
“Reports about the death of Republican support for strong American leadership in the world have been greatly exaggerated. … Don’t look at Twitter, look at people in power,” McConnell said during a security conference last week. “Republican leaders are committed to a strong trans-Atlantic alliance. We are committed to helping Ukraine.”
As of February 21, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported a total of more than 21,000 verified civilian casualties since the invasion. More than 8,000 civilians have died, and more than 13,200 have been injured as a result of this conflict, according to the OHCHR.
Russian forces have reportedly suffered approximately 200,000 casualties, including both those killed and wounded, according to the United Kingdom Defense Ministry. The death toll alone could be as high as 60,000 troops.
According to the United States military, an estimated 100,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the conflict.