Should We Care About the Ukrainians?

 Amid all the international statements of solidarity and sympathy for the Ukrainian people, I have heard or read a few voices saying that perhaps we should not care so much about what is happening in Ukraine. They make a number of points.

One point is that this is just a fight between two former members of the Soviet Union. True, but Ukrainians, a very nationalist people, never wanted to be under the Russian thumb. They suffered greatly in the USSR and wish to look westward in their relations.

Others point out the notorious corruption issues in Ukraine, problems that have hurt their wishes to join NATO. Of course, when we talk of Ukrainian corruption, many of us are reminded of the part that Joe and Hunter Biden played in that corruption. Remember when Hunter Biden was inexplicably on the board of directors of the Burisma energy company at the same time that Papa Joe was vice president? Remember when then-Vice President Biden went to Kiev and told the then-Ukrainian president that US financial aid depended on firing the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma? Remember the infamous tape of Joe Biden bragging about getting the prosecutor fired? We all have our corruption problems.

There is also another issue that is raised by some critics of Ukraine. That is the role some Ukrainians played in the Holocaust. That requires some historical background. As stated above, Ukraine suffered greatly as part of the Soviet Union. Rich in natural resources, it was considered to be the USSR's "breadbasket". Under Stalin, collectivization was imposed on Ukraine and wealthy farm owners (kulaks) were persecuted. Farms were taken over by the State, and the result was mass starvation in Ukraine in the early 1930s brought about by a man-made famine.

When the Germans invaded Ukraine in 1941, many Ukrainians welcomed them as liberators (as did many in the now-NATO Baltic states). Some Ukrainians offered their services willingly to the Germans. At least one Ukrainian police unit participated in and assisted the Germans in carrying out the infamous Babi Yar massacre in Kiev in September 1941. Over 33,000 Ukrainian Jews were rounded up and massacred at Babi Yar, a ravine located on the outskirts of the city (today a memorial site). In addition, some Ukrainians served as concentration camp guards for the Germans.

Should that history, ugly as it was, justify turning our backs now on the Ukrainian people, a generation that had no part in the Nazi occupation? I think not. If Germany itself were to be invaded by the Russians, our sympathy and our support as a fellow NATO member would go out to them. Today's Germany is not the Germany of Hitler. We should also remember that the US and Canada both have very large Ukrainian communities, especially in Chicago and Toronto respectively.

I am not saying that the US and NATO should go into Ukraine with troops to fight the Russians. It is not worth starting World War III, and Ukraine is not a member of NATO. I support our giving whatever aid is possible to at least make the Russians pay a heavy price for their conquest. There is some hope-slight as it may be- that the Russian military might decide that Putin is leading the country to destruction and remove him by force. 

At any rate, the Ukrainians to this point, have earned the admiration of the world for their willingness to fight against a superior military force and lay down their lives for their country. The same goes for leaders like Volodymyr Zelensky, the president, and Vitaly Klitschko, the former boxer and now mayor of Kiev. They are not fleeing into exile. They are staying to lead the fight. Their chances of surviving are not good.

As for the refugee issue. Some estimates say that as many as five million refugees will be fleeing the country. It appears they will be overwhelmingly women, children, and the elderly. Men of military or fighting age are not being allowed to leave. Should Europe, already flooded with refugees, fake refugees, and illegal migrants from the Middle East and Africa, mostly Muslim nations, accept the Ukrainians? Sweden says they are full of the above groups, and other nations should take in Ukrainians. Western Europe has accepted millions of people who are not assimilating, not contributing to the economy of the countries they end up in, and are causing enormous problems in terms of social welfare costs, increased crime, rapes, murders, gangs, violence, acts of terror, and anti-Semitic attacks upon Jews.

The Ukrainians pose none of those risks. According to an article I posted yesterday, a Polish member of the European Parliament claimed that in recent years, Poland has taken in some 2 million Ukrainians, and there has been no uptick in crime. In addition, the Ukrainian refugees have not been a burden on the social welfare system, preferring to find jobs, work, and pay taxes. They pose no threat of terrorism.

So if I question why Western Europe would accept all these people from mostly Muslim nations in the Middle East and Northern Africa and not want to accept Ukrainian refugees, you might say to me, "Is it not also hypocritical to not want the Muslim refugees/migrants but welcome the (European, white) Ukrainians?" Fair question, but to that, I say go back and read the previous two paragraphs once more. This discussion will, no doubt, lead to many accusations of racism and Islamophobia. I've already gotten that from one or more of my (anonymous) readers. No matter. Pointing out the inconvenient truths in no way suggests that it applies to all Muslim immigrants, but the charges of racism from the left will persist anyway. It is designed to silence those who disagree with political correctness and wokeness. The skin color of the refugees doesn't matter. What matters is what they bring to their adopted countries in terms of belief systems, skills, and character, to say nothing of their ability to assimilate and contribute.

Russia will likely take Ukraine, but it will pay a price in terms of blood, international standing, and sanctions. They will need to occupy her in order to hold onto her. Hopefully, a Ukrainian insurgency will follow. Yes, we should provide support to Ukraine, and we should accept its refugees. The next question is if and when Russia makes moves on Poland and the Baltic states, who are in NATO. You can say, they are not worth it either and we should let them fall as well. But if we allow Russia to take over NATO countries, NATO, for all practical purposes, is finished.