Messaging Guidance:
Why Support for Ukraine is in the U.S. Interest
March 2024
U.S. support for Ukraine is not just the right thing to do. It’s the best chance we have to prevent future wars of aggression and avoid a wider war in Europe that could further entangle the U.S. abroad and embolden other adversaries. For more than seventy years, the international order established by the United States and our allies – in partnership with Russia – has prevented major wars and served to de-escalate major conflicts.
By invading Ukraine, Putin is attempting to shred that order so that he can continue to bully and intimidate his neighbors as he sees fit. And make no mistake: America’s adversaries, like China, who have expansionist aspirations of their own, are watching closely and have a huge stake in Russia’s success.
It’s also important to remember that assistance for Ukraine is helping to strengthen our own domestic economy and support good-paying jobs right here in the United States. As Joe Biden reminded House Republicans earlier this year, nearly two-thirds of the funding in these packages will actually go to U.S. factories spread out across the country, including plants in Lima, Ohio, Scranton, Pennsylvania and Mesquite, Texas.
The U.S. and the world at large cannot allow such an unprovoked war of aggression to go unchecked. If we do, it will only embolden autocrats around the world to follow in Putin’s footsteps and use force to pursue their own selfish goals.
Talking Points:
We seek a just and lasting peace.
The only durable solution to the war in Ukraine is a negotiated settlement that ensures Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and security. But Putin has no reason to negotiate in good faith if he believes it can win on the battlefield.
U.S. support to Ukraine is essential to convincing Putin that he cannot outlast Ukraine – and that he must come to the table.
A Russian victory would embolden Putin.
Like any bully, if Putin is not stopped, he will keep going - just as he did following his aggression in Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014. A major Russian military breakthrough would embolden Putin to continue his aggression beyond Ukraine, including in NATO countries.
An attack on a NATO ally would dramatically increase the risk that the United States is drawn directly into a war with Russia. That’s not a situation any American should want, given the cost in lives and money a war with Russia would require, as well as the risk of nuclear escalation that imperils us all.
China and other adversaries are watching.
The world – including U.S. adversaries like Iran and North Korea, both of whom are providing military assistance to Russia – is watching the outcome in Ukraine to see how the United States reacts. Will we accommodate aggression, or take a firm stand against it? Will we stick with our partners, or abandon them in their moment of need? Does aggression pay, or will the cost be too high?
And nowhere is it more important than China, which has indicated it does not rule out the use of force to impose its will on the people of Taiwan. Supporting Ukraine sends a strong deterrent signal to China and other potential aggressors around the world.
U.S. Support to Ukraine is creating jobs here in America.
The key military capabilities the United States provides to Ukraine are built right here in America. More than half of the military resources provided to Ukraine thus far has been produced by manufacturers and suppliers located in 37 U.S. states.
This is good for American workers, good for the American economy, and necessary to ensure the United States has the capacity to produce the armaments required to protect our country.
We’re not doing it alone.
Thanks to U.S. leadership, more than 50 countries around the world have provided support to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Fifteen countries have given more than 1% of GDP to help Ukraine. Even while the United States remains the single largest donor to Ukraine, these amounts far exceed the 0.3% of GDP given by the United States.