Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Western world has watched with admiration how the brave Ukrainian people have resisted Vladimir Putin’s despotic evil.
This admiration has translated into unprecedented levels of humanitarian and military aid, without which Ukraine would not have survived, let alone begun to repel the invaders.
Yet for all their acclaim, Western leaders also have reiterated the same mantra of what they will not do: put boots on the ground, send fighter jets, enforce a no-fly zone and so forth. The rationale, political theorist Francis Fukuyama explains, is that “It is much better to have the Ukrainians defeat the Russians on their own, depriving Moscow of the excuse that NATO attacked them.”