It's absurd, isn't it? The year is 2022 and Russia appears to be forcibly trying to re-assemble the Soviet Union.
Why? That is the question of the hour. What possible benefit could there be in Russia sacrificing their economy, global reputation, and the lives of their soldiers to occupy a country that so very clearly does not want them?
I, like many people I presume, am frustrated at the idea that Vladimir Putin can order tanks to roll into a democratic nation and start wrecking the place without a response from the United States. Surely we would be capable of turning the Ukraine/Russia border into a series of well placed craters where an invading army used to be once they decided to cross that line.
But we can't, if for no reason other than we didn't say we would ahead of time.
In a world of nuclear weapons, you have to have rules of engagement. Actions and consequences have to be spelled out in advance, less you risk escalating a conflict into a global catastrophe.
Ukraine is not a NATO country. We have no mutual defense agreement with them. Unless some Russian tanks get improbably lost and stumble their way into Poland, this is not our fight. As horrific as it sounds, defending Ukraine is "against the rules" and breaking those rules would open the door to even greater horrors.
Instead, the United States is doing what it has done to combat Russians for decades, waging war by proxy. We'll send money and equipment into Ukraine. We'll sanction the Russian economy into the ground and seize the assets of their oligarchs. Even private businesses are working to isolate the country from the world, with everybody from TikTok to Netflix shutting down their service to the country.
We will do everything we can short of actually fighting them.
But what about us, specifically? What are we supposed to do as every day citizens? Because it feels like we should do something, right?
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has got to be one of the most morally unambiguous geopolitical conflicts in recent memory. Russia is very clearly the aggressor and Ukraine is very much in need of support. Even Democrats and… some Republicans… agree on that matter.
But what do we do? Put up yellow and blue flags on our social media profiles? Share the stories of the victims of war as they live stream the invasion of their country? Profess our support for the Ukrainian people from the safety of our homes half a world away?
Well… yes.
The typical American isn't going to be able to do much that will directly help Ukraine. Token gestures may be the best most of us can offer.
Heck, even the State of Iowa's ban on Russian vodka is admittedly more about a show of solidarity than any actual economic impact it will have on the Russian economy.
Which is fine, because we're going to need that solidarity.
Even if a U.S. soldier never fires a single bullet in the conflict, this war is still going to come with a cost for us.
One of the benefits of a globally linked economy is that it binds us all together. Every country is mutually dependent on being part of the greater whole and thus has incentive to play nice.
The downside is that when everybody is mutually dependent… everybody is mutually dependent. Generally countries that face sanctions are minor players that have far more to lose than they have to offer economically.
Russia is not one of those countries. Sanctioning a country like Russia doesn't come without a cost and the global economy, the U.S. included, is going to take some self-imposed damage in the process. This will especially be true of the west goes through with the figurative nuclear option, not to be confused with the literal nuclear option, of banning the import of Russian gas and oil.
So far, energy sales have been exempt from western sanctions. Changing that would be a hammer blow to the Russian economy. At the same time, it wouldn't be a picnic for the rest of the world either as the global market adjusts.
The war has already had a noticeable impact on fuel prices across the globe. Shutting out Russian energy exports completely would exasperate that further.
Back in World War II, American households rationed food and fuel to support the war effort. To prevent World War III, we may have to make similar sacrifices at the gas pump and grocery store.
It's hard to see a scenario where this gets better before it gets worse. The best we can hope for is the least bad option. As anybody in Kiev will tell you, economic warfare is still significantly preferable to the alternative.
Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and didn't have the return of the Cold War on his post-pandemic BINGO card.
