Bradleys over There

Oleh Sentsov is a well-known Ukrainian filmmaker. From 2014 to 2019, he was a political prisoner of the Kremlin. He was one of the most prominent political prisoners in that whole system. When the Kremlin launched its all-out assault on Ukraine in February 2022, Sentsov joined the military. (Today, he is 47.) I interviewed him and wrote about him last summer — for my piece, “One Ukrainian’s Life,” go here. I admire Sentsov a great deal.

The latest can be seen here:

Sentsov wrote,

. . . we came under artillery fire. Bradley saved our lives again. Three were injured, mostly by shrapnel. [Some of the fragments] were already removed from my face; small pieces in my arm and leg will stay with me forever. The other guys are doing well, too — Zaporizhzhia doctors know their business. Thank you!

Who is “Bradley”? Sentsov is referring to Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The United States has supplied the Ukrainians with these vehicles. I am glad we have. Obviously, Americans disagree on this.

• A few days ago, 70 Republican congressmen voted to cut off aid to Ukraine altogether. That’s a pretty big number: 70. It includes Lauren Boebert, Chip Roy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Banks . . . (This article contains the complete list.) Before long, will more Republicans oppose aid to Ukraine than support? The trend is in that direction.

• Here is a U.S. senator, J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio:

This is a pungent example of demagoguery — of the lowest, most boobish populism. The issue of entitlement reform is one thing. Some of us have been advocating it — pointing out the necessity of it — for many years. And the issue of the Ukraine war is another.

Also, have you noticed that the likes of Vance tend to say “money to Zelensky,” rather than “money to Ukraine,” or “the Ukrainians”? They have made a hate-figure out of Volodymyr Zelensky. Curious.

Finally, every time someone such as Vance mocks people for having a Ukrainian flag in their bio, I feel remiss for not having one myself. To express solidarity with a people under siege — people who are fighting for their lives, and the survival of their country — is natural and right.

• If I could question Republican presidential candidates, I might ask, “Do you believe in Ukraine’s right to exist?” Also, “Do you think that what happens in Ukraine has repercussions anywhere else?”

Let me say something about the first question: I don’t much care for Russia’s government. It is a brutal, murderous, marauding dictatorship. Many of the best people in Russia are locked away in prison (as in Soviet days). But no one questions the right of Russia to exist.

I don’t much care for China’s government, or Cuba’s, or Saudi Arabia’s, or Iran’s, etc. But no one questions the right of those countries to exist.

Three countries have their very right to exist questioned: Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

• I hear a lot of Americans claim that they oppose aid to Ukraine because they want to save our resources for Taiwan. Two questions (among others) come to mind: Would these people really support Taiwan if the crunch came? (I would not like to see that tested.) If Taiwan were under no threat whatsoever — would these people then favor aid to Ukraine? (I would not bet on it.)

The people who best understand the connection between Ukraine and Taiwan — are the Taiwanese. And possibly the rulers in Beijing.

• Last September, the U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said, “One man chose this war [meaning Putin]. One man can end it. Because if Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends.”

Blinken had Golda Meir in mind, no doubt. You recall her words: “If they lay down their arms, there will be no more war. If we lay down our arms, there will be no more Israel.”

Last Friday, Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), wrote,

I associate the word “pussyfooting” with George Wallace (from whom it was “pussyfootin’,” of course). In any event: Some people, Republican and Democratic, think that the administration is doing too little for Ukraine (and hence for the U.S. interest). Others, obviously, think that Biden is doing way too much. Remember, 70 GOP House members voted to stop aid to Ukraine altogether.

Quite possibly, the Ukrainians are in a race against time — as well as a war with the Russian military. U.S. support cannot be counted on. No matter what assurances the current administration gives.

Have a look at this, from Yaroslav Trofimov, the chief foreign-affairs correspondent of the Wall Street Journal: “Changing Places: Europeans Grow More Assertive on Ukraine as Washington Shows Caution.” Very interesting. But without the United States — the devouring of Ukraine seems certain. And if you think that Putin and his crew would be sated . . .