Ukraine’s 500th Day Of War Against Russian Invaders – And Biden’s Indecision

ANALYSIS – Saturday will mark the 500^th day of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Russia's invasion is a far-reaching human and economic tragedy that shows no sign of ending, especially with Joe Biden's indecisive, incrementalist approach to arming Ukraine. (RELATED: US Agrees To Give Cluster Munitions To Ukraine)

On February 24, 2022, Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine, aimed, he said, at maintaining its proxy control of Donbas, the “denazification” of the country and preventing the expansion of NATO to its southwest flank.

Five hundred days later, Putin has only been partly successful, still holding much of Donbas.

But Sweden and Finland are joining the Western military bloc, and Ukraine is closer than it has ever been to NATO and the EU, receiving military and financial assistance “for as long as needed.” (RELATED: NATO Charts A Course For Ukraine's Disappointment Ahead Of Vilnius Summit)

After the first two months of the war, Russia held almost 27% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which Russia had annexed in 2014.

By Nov. 11, 2022, Ukraine had liberated a third of that – an area of 46,000 square miles – from Russian occupation.

Both sides have seen huge losses, with up to 131,000 Ukrainian dead and wounded and 223,000 Russians. Ukrainian civilian losses are still being counted, with over 25,000 killed or injured, but the real figure is believed to be far higher.

The damage to the economy has seen it shrink by 30%, with World Bank estimates for the reconstruction of the country currently sitting at around $411 billion.

So far, the U.S. remains the largest individual provider of security assistance to Kyiv, with Germany emerging as the second-largest donor. But when you look at the bigger picture, European countries have provided almost as much.

And other countries have contributed about a quarter of what the U.S. has given.

In the newly recorded period from February 25 to May 31, 2023, the value of all recorded commitments to Ukraine rose by a good $14 billion to a total of around $180 billion.

Germany, now the second largest donor of military aid in absolute terms, increased its military commitments by $3.5 billion, or 76 percent, to $9 billion. 

This includes additional main battle tanks, Iris-T air defense systems and other weapons to strengthen Ukraine's air defense capabilities.

Former Soviet states and ex-Soviet satellite states are also among Kyiv's most generous backers. (RELATED: Putin's Plans For Dominating Europe's Baltic States Revealed)

Meanwhile, the war has sent millions of Ukrainians fleeing to countries across Europe.

In February, during the first week of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a million civilians fled to neighboring countries in Europe.

Now, some 500 days later, there are up to eight million Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, living in Europe, many of whom are thinking about settling for good in the countries that have taken them in – creating a challenge to rebuilding the Ukrainian post-war economy.

A poll of 500 Ukrainian businesses shows that a third of them already see staff shortages as a major challenge.

Once wartime restrictions on men leaving the country are lifted, many of them may choose to join their families abroad, further depleting the population of young, qualified, enterprising and educated people in Ukraine.

Another estimated six million are internally displaced inside Ukraine.

Until now, the West has only provided Ukraine with advanced weapons after months of refusal, and then only in drawn-out stages (tanks, air defense systems, cruise missiles).

This indecisive and incrementalist Biden-led approach only prolongs a gruesome war.

If the U.S., NATO and the European Union don't dramatically ramp up support (mostly with combat jets and longer-range missiles) for Ukraine to force Russia to consider relenting or negotiating, this war and all its massive human, physical and financial costs will only continue.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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