In recent speeches and op-eds, my colleague Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) imagines “a world of scarcity” in which “the math” compels us to conclude the United States “lack[s] the capacity to manufacture the amount of weapons Ukraine needs us to supply to win the war.” He and other congressional isolationists claim that the United States cannot aid Ukraine because we must hoard our weapons ahead of a possible war with China.
These arguments are false. War is not simple math. And, even if it were, Vance’s numbers are wrong.
Backing Ukraine will strengthen the United States by helping deter China (and others) from starting a war while we rebuild America’s defense capabilities. The burden of supplying Ukraine is also not entirely on us — we have allies on our side.
I recently returned from the Indo-Pacific, during which I met with the leaders of Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam. China’s neighbors know that abandoning Ukraine will expose the United States as unreliable, providing China’s Xi Jinping more reason to test our resolve by acting against allies such as the Philippines and partners like Taiwan.
This would make the Indo-Pacific more dangerous and a conflict involving U.S. troops more likely.
We should be grateful that Japan and South Korea are sending Ukraine billions worth of military material, such as anti-drone equipment. There is a reason Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida repeatedly mentioned Ukraine in his address to Congress last week: he understands that stopping Putin today is critical to deterring Xi tomorrow.
Politicians hellbent on abandoning Ukraine — Vance included — claim that the U.S. defense industrial base is already under strain. But they propose no solution to the problem, perhaps revealing that, rather than deterring our adversaries, their real scheme is old-fashioned, self-defeating American isolationism.
Today’s America Firsters also ignore that the bipartisan Senate bill they oppose would allow us to send Ukraine decades-old weapons systems while replacing them with more advanced versions. We will inject money and urgency into the U.S. defense industrial base while replenishing our stockpiles and creating jobs nationwide. In fact, most of the money we “spend on Ukraine” stays here in the United States.
Since Putin lawlessly invaded Ukraine, the United States has increased industrial defense and space production by almost 20%. We are building infantry vehicles, howitzers, HIMARS launchers, and more — some of which we have not made in nearly 20 years. At the same time, we are creating jobs for workers in 40 states and more than 70 cities.
Ukraine is not losing, as Vance insists. Its troops are holding the front line and critical positions even while being outgunned. And, they have bolstered their own defense industry, which is manufacturing, among other weapons, tank-killing drones.
Perhaps the most peculiar aspect of Vance’s dim view of Ukraine’s position is his belief that Putin would somehow accept a negotiated peace. Putin has proved over and over again that he does not believe in Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign state. Russian officials also continue to threaten NATO allies such as Estonia and Poland, where the U.S. has thousands of troops. Capitulating to appease Putin now means not only a dishonorable peace for Ukraine but more violence and danger to Americans later.
Make no mistake: Putin seeks to destroy Ukraine. But with help from the United States and our allies, the Ukrainian people have so far effectively stopped him. They have demonstrated to the world that people will still fight for freedom.
The United States and our partners have shown the world’s tyrants that democracies will stand up for one another when tested. Together, we have sent a strong message of deterrence to our adversaries — for trillions of dollars less than we spent in Afghanistan and Iraq and without deploying a single American soldier to the front.
Nevertheless, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has refused to bring the bill (or any defense bill) to the House floor, even though a broad bipartisan majority would support it.
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House and Senate isolationists want us to cut and run on Ukraine in the name of preparing for the possibility of war with China. No one should wish for such a war ever to happen, but backing Ukraine is our best preparation and our best deterrence.
Especially in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel, Republicans should hold this vote or accept history’s judgment that the modern-day America Firsters lost Ukraine — and put the United States in greater danger.
Michael Bennet is a U.S. senator for Colorado and serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
