.png)
Yesterday and today, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation held a Summit on WHO WILL WIN IN UKRAINE—the Freeword or the Axis of Aggression. As part of the Summit, we held our Star of Ukraine Award Dinner at the Willard Hotel.
This year’s Awardees were Senator Mitch McConnell, The longest-serving Senate advocate for Ukraine — Honorable Zygimantas Pavilionis, Former Lithuanian Ambassador to the United States, And Member of the Lithuanian Parliament, head of United4Ukraine, inter-parliamentary European advocacy for Ukraine His Excellency Jens Stoltenberg, Former Secretary General of NATO, Norway’s Minister of Finance
Here are Senator McConnell’s prepared remarks on accepting the Star of Ukraine Award.
“I am so humbled by this recognition. Clearly, in the selection process, Nadia and Bob McConnell didn’t mind a bit of good old-fashioned nepotism! No, no. The fact that I get to share a name with the longest-standing advocates for Ukraine in Washington is just a very fortunate coincidence. On the other hand, it is not by chance that Ukraine emerged from the Soviet Union onto the long, arduous path toward proud and sovereign democracy. It is not by accident that the Ukrainian people have repeatedly resisted Russian subversion and invasion with their flag planted firmly in the West.
“From Nadia and Bob’s vision grew an institution that has walked hand-in-hand with our Ukrainian friends at every step of the way. I’m grateful to the entire Foundation team for the essential work you’ve done over the past three decades to help sustain and enrich the U.S.-Ukraine relationship. And I’ve been proud to share your cause.
“I was proud to stand with freedom-loving people trapped behind the Iron Curtain, and to take up President Reagan’s promise in his message to the Captive Nations: that ‘your struggle is our struggle, your dream is our dream, and someday you, too, will be free.’ I believed then – and believe now – that when Soviet communism crumbled, the West had an interest in helping newly liberated nations like Ukraine find their way. I believed then – and now – that even as NATO fulfilled its founding purpose, the trans-Atlantic alliance would remain the essential cornerstone of the West’s defense.
“In pursuit of a freer and more stable world, it’s been a privilege to work over the years with so many of you here tonight. But it is also an obligation. So I hope you’ll forgive me for saying things that those in this room already understand…Reiterating principles you already believe in…Acknowledging a reality you already know to be true…But which we cannot fail to impress upon others.
“Peace is a noble goal. And few deserve it more than the people of Ukraine, who feel the absence of peace most viscerally…When they stand in the rubble of their homes, their schools, and their churches…And when they say goodbye to children or parents bound for the front, some never to return.
“If there’s anyone who I’ll take at their word when they say they want peace, it’s the people who had peace stolen from them…The nation whose unique identity has led Kremlin totalitarians – time and time again – to starve, subjugate, and try to destroy it.
“If the past three years of suffering have served any purpose, it has been to remind the West of a truth that Ukraine has known for generations. Peace is a noble goal. But as our friends on the front lines understand in their bones, the price of peace matters. It matters today like it mattered in 1938, when the West took an aggressor at his word and trusted that his aims were modest, that he acted in good faith, and that appeasement would yield ‘peace for our time’.
“Will the price of peace yet again be fawning Western weakness? Will we entertain Putin’s claim on Russian speakers beyond his borders like the West acquiesced to Hitler’s claim on German speakers?
“The past three years have shown again how easily aggressors can twist history to suit their whims and provide fig leaves for their apologists, fifth columns, and useful idiots in the West.
“We’ve seen a neo-Soviet imperialist spin medieval fictions to erase Ukraine’s history while his troops work to erase its modern sovereignty. But real history still offers real lessons. And if we fail to heed them, we only have ourselves to blame.
“In 1985, when I was very new to the Senate, Margaret Thatcher came to Washington and addressed a joint session of Congress. Her message was clear: ‘Wars are not caused by the build up of weapons. They are caused when an aggressor believes he can achieve his objectives at an acceptable price. The war of 1939 was not caused by an arms race. It sprang from a tyrant's belief that other countries lacked the means and the will to resist him.’ We know the Iron Lady was right. And we saw her words ring true three years ago.
“America was in retreat from Afghanistan. Despite Putin’s invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, Europe was still in denial about the urgent requirements of collective security. And a tyrant concluded – rightly – that our deterrence was neither capable nor credible. Of course, what he failed to account for was the unshakeable resolve of Ukraine. For three years now, we’ve watched the Ukrainian military adapt and innovate faster than America and Western allies could hope to, ourselves. Under constant siege, they’ve managed – for one thing – to become world leaders in tactical drones.
“Ukrainians have seen the future of war…and they’re mastering it. Turning our backs on such capable partners isn’t just immoral. It’s self-defeating. Today – finally – European allies are making strides toward more capable forces of their own. But after three years, America is no more credible in the commitments we make to stand with our allies or defend our own clear interests. And our own capabilities are in decline. The continuing resolution Congress passed earlier this month was only the latest missed opportunity to get serious about restoring American hard power.
“This war is a reminder that what happens in one region has implications in another… That weakness in the face of one adversary would invite aggression from another even closer to home…That our credibility was not divisible. Allies half a world away in Asia have told us the same – that Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression matters to those who live in China’s shadow. America can’t afford to ignore these lessons. But that’s exactly what some of the President’s advisors are urging him to do.
“When the President’s envoys trumpet the magnanimity of a thuggish autocrat, they do so under the watchful eyes of his friends in Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang. When his representatives in negotiations masquerade as neutral arbiters, or legitimize sham elections, or treat aggressor and victim as morally equivalent, they do so in full view of longtime partners across the globe – some who know the taste of aggression, and some who have good reason to fear its imminent arrival.
“When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies…When they mock our friends to impress an enemy…They reveal their embarrassing naivete.
“Unless we change course, the outcome we’re headed for today is the one we can least afford: a headline that reads ‘Russia wins, America loses’…An illusory peace that shreds America’s credibility, leaves Ukraine under threat, weakens our alliances, and emboldens our enemies.
“Back in 1940, FDR warned that ‘no man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it’. But of course, by then, stroking and appeasement had already invited world war. And America was already on its way to spending more than a third of its GDP on fighting and winning it.
“War is a heck of a lot more expensive than deterrence. After military spending hit 37% of GDP during World War II, it reached 13.8% during Korea, 9.1% during Vietnam, and 6% during the Reagan buildup that sealed the Cold War. The principle behind that build-up has returned as the most popular phrase in Washington today: peace through strength. But too many of those who use it – particularly among the President’s advisors – don’t seem ready to summon the resources and national will it requires. They ought to go back to the wisdom of President Reagan’s friend, Mrs. Thatcher. The rest of her advice to Congress goes like this: ‘Our task is to see that potential aggressors, from whatever quarter, understand plainly that the capacity and the resolve of the West would deny them victory in war and that the price they would pay would be intolerable.’
“We have a lot of work to do on this front. The ‘resolve of the West’ will require that we actually stand with the West. Instead of mocking European allies and partners, it’ll mean building a stronger trans-Atlantic alliance…And continuing the work championed by another of tonight’s worthy honorees, Jens Stoltenberg.
“Threatening ‘intolerable costs’ will require credibility. The best way to lose credibility – with allies in Europe and with friends further afield – is to abandon Ukraine as beyond the scope of our interests.
“Just this week, the director of the CIA told my Senate colleagues that Ukraine and its people have been underestimated, and that they would ‘fight with their bare hands if they have to, if they don't have terms that are acceptable to an enduring peace.’
“Imagine, then, what would be possible at the negotiating table if we had given Ukraine the tools it needed on the battlefield when they needed them most. Imagine Ukraine’s leverage today if the West had armed it to the teeth from the get-go. And consider what’s still possible if America chooses today to stand behind our friends…If we committed to helping Ukraine secure a just and enduring peace.
“I’ll close with an observation the great historian, Bernard Lewis, attributed to a Turkish general. It goes like this: ‘The Americans are dangerous allies. You never know when they are going to turn around and stab themselves in the back.’
“To cut off Ukraine is to stab ourselves in the back. So is the denigration of allies who have fought and died alongside us. The Americans should be dangerous allies. The kind so dangerous that enemies of democracy, sovereignty, and free commerce wouldn’t dare to doubt our commitments or our resolve.
“We’ve got a long road ahead. But I’m proud to share it with all of you. Thank you very much.”
ROBERT MCCONNELL
Co-Founder, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Director of External Affairs, Friends of Ukraine Network
The introduction is Mr. McConnell’s and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation or the Friends of Ukraine Network (FOUN).