Independence Day Reflections: Ukraine, National Shame for the Actions of Our Political Leadership, and the Cost of Broken Promises
A Fourth of July Like No Other
This Fourth of July arrives under a cloud. Unlike Army, Flag, and President Trump's birthday, not tanks, and overflying air force and helicopters are expected. Security should be very tight out of an alleged concern about pro-Iranian terrorists, people who are the primary targets of the Trump Administration's policies, and journalists.
While Americans gather to celebrate independence, Ukraine faces an increasingly existential threat, with diminished support from the very nations that once guaranteed its security. Reports confirm that the United States has paused or redirected shipments of critical weapons systems to Ukraine, including Patriot interceptors, Hellfire and Stinger missiles, and guided artillery. According to Ukrainian officials, these suspensions occurred without notice. Meanwhile, the strikes continue. Civilians die. The silence of U.S. defense and diplomatic leaders is deafening.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it had “not received any official notifications” about the “suspension or revision of the delivery schedules” and has formally requested clarification. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned the top U.S. Embassy official in Kyiv, warning that delays “encourage the aggressor.” [1]
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov acknowledged reports of delays, while stressing that uncertainty weakens Ukraine’s strategic position. U.S. officials, citing strained military reserves, defended the move as a decision to “put America’s interests first.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed the announcement, saying it would “bring the conflict to a quicker resolution.” [2]
Past as Prologue
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal. In 1994, it agreed to transfer all nuclear weapons to Russia and dismantle its delivery systems in exchange for written security assurances from the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia. These assurances were codified in the Budapest Memorandum.[3]
The language of that agreement was clear: the signatories pledged to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, refrain from threats or the use of force, and seek United Nations Security Council assistance if Ukraine became the victim of aggression. Russia has violated all of these terms—first with the 2014 annexation of Crimea, then with the full-scale invasion in 2022.
To date, the United States and United Kingdom have not repudiated the Memorandum, but the current halt in military assistance raises serious questions about its durability and meaning. As Ukrainian officials have pointed out with increasing urgency, had Ukraine retained its nuclear weapons, this scenario would likely not exist.[4]
Strategic Cost, Moral Failure
The consequences of this policy shift are being felt in real time. As Russian forces increase missile and drone attacks on residential areas and critical infrastructure, Ukraine finds itself increasingly exposed. Civilian casualties are rising. Water and power systems have again become targets. Without active air defenses, the human toll will only grow.
Russia launched its largest air assault of the war just last week, firing more than 500 drones and missiles at cities across the country. In June alone, more than 5,000 self-detonating drones struck Ukrainian targets. The implications are clear: in the absence of adequate U.S.-supplied air defense systems like the Patriot, Ukrainian civilians are paying the price.[5]
From Legal Promise to Political Breach
Despite diminished support, Ukraine’s response has been strategic and effective. Its recent "Operation Spiderweb," which successfully targeted and degraded key elements of Russia’s strategic forces, is a case in point. Ukraine is not faltering. It is innovativeng.
Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb—a coordinated drone assault deep within Russian territory—has emerged as a pivotal event in modern warfare, with significant implications for U.S. military planning and national security. The Zelensky government may have saved the United States billions of dollars in misguided spending and reduced our vulnerability to attack. This sum is far greater than defense planners might have imagined.
If the U.S. military establishment, NATO, and our other allies draw the proper lessons and act upon them, the strategic dividends could be immense. Operation Spiderweb should be studied closely by members of the U.S. armed forces, civilian defense personnel, senators, members of Congress, defense analysts, and contractors. It offers a stark reminder that necessity is the mother of invention—and a challenge to end complacency in defense planning.
Congress should unanimously thank President Zelensky, his advisors, the Ukrainian armed forces, and Ukrainian security personnel for their innovation and courage, which has eliminated billions of potential unnecessary spending, reduced our vulnerability to a surprise attack, and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal budget and thus reduces the national deficit, for which we should say "thank you" in a big way, not by withholding weapons that helps an aggressor.[6]
But as its ability to strike improves, its capacity to defend suffers, particularly without the promised missile systems. Civilian infrastructure, hospitals, and schools remain exposed to relentless bombardment. The resulting humanitarian toll is immediate, measurable, and growing.
Is the Concept of the “West” An Anachronism?
The situation is compounded by recent actions at the G7 summit in Canada. President Donald Trump publicly declared Russia’s expulsion from the G8 a "mistake," calling the current G7 "useless" without Moscow’s presence.[7] These comments, echoed approvingly by the Kremlin, represent a jarring break from the longstanding U.S. consensus. [8]
Days later, the White House signaled its intent to ease key sanctions on Russian financial institutions and energy companies. The administration has already disbanded the interagency group focused on sanction coordination. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to reintegrate Russian banks into SWIFT—again, without any reciprocal steps by Moscow toward de-escalation.[9]
The implications are far-reaching. Rehabilitating Russia’s financial institutions without meaningful preconditions undermines years of coordinated sanctions policy and signals acquiescence rather than deterrence. Congressional voices, including Senator Ron Wyden, have warned that unilateral rollbacks may violate statutory mandates like CAATSA and the Magnitsky Act.[10]
As Ukraine absorbs missile barrages and rationed aid, Washington is seen extending a financial lifeline to the aggressor. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is urging greater pressure on Russia, not less.[11] The contrast between U.S. retreat and EU resolve is growing starker by the day. Even within the administration, reports suggest quiet dissension from national security professionals concerned about strategic incoherence.
Lessons Ignored
This pattern of strategic abandonment has historical precedents. In 1973, the Nixon administration, under Henry Kissinger, secured a ceasefire in Vietnam, which was quickly followed by a cutoff in U.S. military assistance. Saigon fell within two years. The human cost was staggering -- countless lives were lost and families displaced. American assurances proved fragile.[12] The U.S. has millions of citizens who either fled Viet Nam or are their descendants.
The legacy of the Vietnam War is also reflected in the extraordinary accomplishments of the Vietnamese American community, many of whom are descended from refugees who fled South Vietnam in the war’s aftermath. They have gone on to become leaders in medicine, law, academia, business, and public service, contributing deeply to American civic and economic life while preserving their cultural identity and advocating for democracy and human rights.[11]
This scenario had its precedent, in 1938, the Munich Agreement saw Britain and France accede to Hitler’s demands at the expense of Czechoslovakia. That agreement lasted less than a year. Hitler overran the country and then invaded Poland. Appeasement did not prevent the conflagration; it made it inevitable.
In fact, Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced one of the most enduring and effective analogies to explain the Lend-Lease program during a press conference on December 17, 1940, when he compared U.S. aid to Britain to lending a neighbor your garden hose to put out a fire. He explained:
“Suppose my neighbor’s home catches fire, and I have a length of garden hose four or five hundred feet away. If he can take my garden hose and connect it up with his hydrant, I may help him to put out his fire. … I don't want $15—I want my garden hose back after the fire is over.”
This vivid metaphor offers an accessible justification to help sanitize a controversial policy—essentially lending weapons and equipment without expecting cash repayment—and underscored the urgent moral calculus at a time when Britain’s survival was viewed as critical to America’s own security. As history demonstrated. This proved correct. [12]
Ironically, the capitulation at Munich was seized upon by the U.S. defense and intelligence communities to stand up against Communism to prevent one domino from knocking over another in Asia. A misguided and ill-informed policy in pursuit of a noble goal of preventing people from living under totalitarian regimes.
Voices That Must Be Heard
Given the gravity of the present situation, it is striking how seldom retired U.S. defense, intelligence, and diplomatic leaders have stepped forward to speak. Figures such as Gen. Mark Milley, former Secretary Lloyd Austin, Adm. James Stavridis, and Amb. Marie Yovanovitch carries institutional credibility and strategic insight. Their voices could articulate why continued U.S. support for Ukraine matters—not just for Ukraine, but for the credibility of international law and democracy itself. A public event—timed around Bastille Day, July 14—would be both symbolic and substantive: a declaration that the United States stands with democracies under threat.
🎧 Learn the Truth, Share the Knowledge
📚 Learn About Ukraine’s History & Sovereignty
Timothy Snyder’s Yale course: The Making of Modern Ukraine
🔗 Watch here
🎧 Understand U.S. Obligations and Strategy
Lawfare Podcast: Special series on Ukraine, legal commitments, and democratic defense
🔗 Listen here
🎥 Watch and Reflect
Winter on Fire (Netflix): Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan protests
20 Days in Mariupol (PBS Frontline): Pulitzer-winning siege coverage
The Long Breakup (PBS): Ukraine’s post-Soviet struggle
Ukraine: The Fight for Freedom (BBC): A sweeping chronicle of the war
Endnotes
[1] David L. Stern, et al., Washington Post, July 2, 2025, at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/02/us-ukraine-weapons-halted-air-defense.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ukrainian Symposium – the Budapest Memorandum’s History and Role in the Conflict. Robert Lawless, Articles of War, Lieber Institute, West Point, January 15, 2025, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/budapest-memorandums-history-role-conflict.
[4] Kyiv Independent, “Ukraine war latest: As Russia ramps up missile attacks, US halts promised air defense shipments to Ukraine,” July 2, 2025, https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-96/
[5] Isabelle Khurshudyan and John Hudson, Washington Post, July 2, 2025, at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/02/us-ukraine-weapons-halted-air-defense.
[6] Substack: The past is the present, isn't it? It's the future, too. W “Zelensky Government may have saved the U.S. billions of dollars from misguided spending and reduce our vulnerability to attack, at June 4, 2025, at https://ethansburger.substack.com/p/zelensky-government-may-have-saved.
[7] The Guardian, “Donald Trump repeats call for Russia to be readmitted at G7 summit in Canada: US president said Ukraine war would not have happened if Moscow had not been thrown out in 2014 over Crimea,” Patrick Wintour, June 17, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/16/donald-trump-repeats-call-for-russia-to-be-readmitted-at-g7-summit-in-canada.
[8] Tass, Kremlin agrees with Trump that Russia’s exclusion from G8 was mistake — spokesman, June 18, 2025, at https://tass.com/politics/1974471.
[9] Bessent opens door to Russian return to major international banking system, Gregory Svirnovsky, March 26, 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/26/everythings-on-the-table-bessent-opens-door-to-russian-return-to-major-international-banking-system-00252653.
[10] U.S. Senate Finance Committee, June 27, 2025, at https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-questions-treasury-department-over-russia-sanctions-flip-flop.\
[11] Politico, “EU looks to impose sanctions on Putin simultaneously with US, says von der Leyen,” Politico, Gordon Repinski, et al., June 4, 2025, at https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-looks-to-impose-sanctions-on-putin-simultaneously-with-us-says-von-der-leyen.
[12] Lien-Hang Nguyen, New York Times, April 27, 2023, at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/27/opinion/saigon-vietnam-1975.html.
[13] Pew Research Center, “Vietnamese Americans: Facts and Figures,” updated 2023, at https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-vietnamese-in-the-u-s/
See also: Nguyen, Viet Thanh, The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives, Abrams Press, 2018.
[14] Excerpts from FDR’s press conference, December 17, 1940, at The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/press-conference-3.