Demonstrators rally in support of Ukraine in downtown Chicago, Illinois, on March 2, 2025. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Mark Cary, United States member
I vividly remember when the Soviet Union collapsed. I was in my second year in college studying the history, ideology, and global influence of this dictatorship in an academic concentration called "Soviet and Eastern European Studies."
In 1989, the world felt joy and hope when the Berlin Wall fell. Once that dam broke, the end was inevitable.
Then came the horror of the murderous Soviet crackdown in Lithuania in 1991 as they tried in vain to hold on to their empire.
In December of 1991, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus dissolved the Soviet Union, and 15 new countries were born.
The world was changed for the better, or so we thought.
Many factors contributed to this moment. All empires inevitably crack and begin to rot. The disastrous war in Afghanistan exacerbated the economic strain created by decades of military expenditures. The Soviets could no longer provide basic needs while simultaneously competing against Reagan's buildup and his willingness to challenge them at every turn.
Glasnost and Perestroika, Gorbachev's dual efforts to modernize Soviet society, backfired when the people got a taste of what could be.
In the West, we felt we "won" the Cold War. We spoke of a "peace dividend," and the United States assumed the position of the world's only superpower.
Some people called this "the end of history."
While we cheered, took a victory lap, and hoped to help guide these new emerging democracies, we failed to understand that there were those like Vladimir Putin for whom the Cold War never ended.
In 1999, a dictatorship in the fascist, imperial mold returned to Russia. Many in the United States recognized this threat; most did not.
Perhaps we weren't vigilant enough. But never in my life did I expect to see my country, led by the republican party, eagerly stand on the side of tyranny and imperialism. The party of Reagan now helps resuscitate and support an empire that we spent years, blood, and treasure trying to defeat.
What I am witnessing now in my United States is unconscionable.
Donald Trump has always had deep ties to the dark underbelly of Russia. His sons brag about the financing they receive from shady Russian oligarchs. He has selected pro-Russian politicians to cabinet positions. He has stated that he trusts the FSB over his own intelligence services.
I don't want to believe conspiracies that he was compromised by the KGB on his all-expenses-paid trip to Moscow in 1987. However, in light of his history of deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his now intentional switching of sides in the war between good and evil, right and wrong, democracy and tyranny, it is hard not to.
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The truth is actually worse than that.
The truth is that a malignant narcissist with no values and a transactional view of policy is grasping at straws to deflect blame for his disastrous decisions.
Ukraine is an easy mark. From his shallow promise to "end the war in 24 hours" to his hatred of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, he sees no problem leaving Ukraine to fend for itself with only a disorganized and unprepared Europe to defend it.
Ukraine is being sacrificed at the altar of cynical political expediency.
I am sick, angry, frustrated, and tormented at this. I fear for the mental and physical health of my friends throughout Ukraine as they weather hour after hour of unrelenting attacks. We don't know what to say, how to comfort or ease both the pain of war and betrayal.
I am consumed by hatred, not only for Putin, but for the smug cabal of traitorous and ignorant Americans willing to abandon the values and principles that our country was founded on, and that we have defended throughout our history.
But I want my Ukrainian friends to know that you still have very broad and determined support in the United States.
"In the war between Russia and Ukraine, the United States is first to surrender, but Americans still stand with Ukraine" — these are the words I saw on the posters of protesters and in comments about our new embrace of Russia.
We still remember the feelings we had when we watched freedom come to Eastern Europe, and we understand that what our government is doing is objectively wrong.
Those of us who have committed to helping you will not stop. This is not only the right thing to do for Ukraine, but it is also an act of resistance by decent Americans against the creeping fascism and moral vacuousness that our leaders represent.
Stand strong, and we will always stand with you.
Editor's note: The letters published in this section reflect the views of their authors alone and do not purport to represent the position of the Kyiv Independent. Got an opinion on anything you've read in the Kyiv Independent? Send it to letters@kyivindependent.com— your letter may appear in our Letters section.
