The war in Ukraine has been going on for over a year now. As Americans begin to shift their focus to domestic issues like inflation, gun violence, and the upcoming presidential elections, the war in Ukraine has largely been put aside in the collective imagination of the American public. The fronts have moved very little in Ukraine recently and the war seems to be locked in a stalemate. These factors have led many Americans to wonder: “Why should we care about Ukraine?” It is valuable to not let this kind of indifference prosper in this country. Ukraine is incredibly important, not just from a moral perspective, but from a perspective of national defense as well.

First let’s examine the war in Ukraine from the perspective of an idealist foreign policy, a type of diplomacy defined by the Council of Foreign Relations as the idea “that a country’s foreign policy should reflect its internal values primarily.” This idea of idealism in foreign policy was expounded by President Woodrow Wilson in the 1910s, who advocated only granting support to countries whose values were analogous with America’s values, a theory called moral diplomacy. Adhering to this basic principle, the United States would have a moral obligation to support Ukraine. Ukraine is a fellow democratic country being invaded and attacked by Russia, which is described by Freedom House, an organization that ranks the freedom of societies based on a set of criteria, as a consolidated authoritarian state. It is therefore logical to assume that a Russian victory in Ukraine will lead to the end of democracy in Ukraine. Another important fact about the war in Ukraine is the suffering of the Ukrainian people inflicted by the Russian invasion. The Human Rights Watch lists the following war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine: rape, unlawful violence, threats against civilians, summary execution, and attacking civilian targets. The United States cannot sit idly as innocent people are subjected to this horror. It is our duty as the leader of the free world to defend the free world, and therefore we ought to care about Ukraine to adhere to our values.

Despite the merit in aiding Ukraine, the previous arguments will not go far enough for individuals who subscribe to the realist theory of foreign policy. Realism in foreign policy is described by the University of North Carolina as a theory that “places national interests and security above ideology, ethics and morality.” Opponents to aiding Ukraine will often argue that the United States need not involve itself in some far-flung conflict in Europe, that it is not our job to help Ukraine and that a Ukrainian defeat would pose no threat to the United States. This could not be further from the truth. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russia poses a threat to United States national security, particularly in Ukraine. Should Russia win in Ukraine, it would project Russian power even further upon the free democracies of Europe like Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. This harkens back to the domino theory in the Cold War, the theory being that if one nation falls to communism, nearby nations will also succumb to communism; it would be easy to neatly swap communism with generic authoritarianism with Ukraine being the modern-day battleground. Just as the United States primarily aligns itself with democratic powers, Russia and China primarily align themselves with authoritarian powers. To allow more nations in the world to fall to authoritarianism would be to give Russia and China, both of which are national security threats, more power on the world stage. It is not in the best interest of the United States for Ukraine to fall to authoritarianism as it will directly increase the power of America’s rivals.

For these reasons it is clearly necessary for the American people to remain aware of the importance of the conflict in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is a fight between the forces of freedom and democracy and the forces of authoritarianism and oppression. We as Americans need to be aware and stay informed on the conflict, not just for our sake, but for the sake of those who are suffering in Ukraine.