If Americans did not understand that Putin was an active threat to the international order that the U.S. and our allies have fought so hard to create during the past eight decades, then it is our obligation to ensure they do now.
Ukraine is only distant from the U.S. on a map. It is our neighbor in terms of the threat it is now facing, because that threat could easily and in an instant reach us. It is our neighbor because it is defending our interests and those of our most important alliance all alone.
It is our neighbor because the values it is protecting are our values. It is our neighbor because the enemy it is opposing seeks to weaken it so that he may weaken us and our alliance in the process. Ukrainians who are at risk and dying are therefore not just dying for Ukraine.
Their strength against Russian aggression is also a critical element of our strength. Should this aggression against them go unchecked, make no mistake, we will be weaker. We will be at greater risk. Our world will be a more dangerous place.
Ukraine is our neighbor. The people of Ukraine are not just innocent victims of brutal aggression, they are neighbors fighting a battle in which we can be one of the big losers.
This is not a call for the US to go to war. It is however, a call for us to recognize how this touches us & impacts the interests of each and every American. And it is a call for solidarity and strength and support for the people of Ukraine who are today, our friends & neighbors.
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