And where would you draw the line?
What Ukraine most wanted from the West, the West was least likely to give. That was the inherent tension between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Biden. Closing the skies, as Zelensky repeatedly asked of the United States and NATO, would stop Russia from bombing Ukrainian cities. But enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine could lead to the United States entering a war with Russia — or even, Biden warned, “World War III.” The Biden administration has drawn its line at actions that it thinks could provoke Russia. But the demarcation between proxy war and real war is getting fuzzier. The United States has been supplying Ukraine weapons for years and ramped that up as the Russian invasion began. They’ve sent them missiles, antitank weapons, some 50 million bullets and systems that can shoot down Russian aircraft. Biden has accused Russia of war crimes and genocide, and regularly announces that he’s sending Ukraine more aid, including lethal weapons like mines and even helicopters. “We cannot rest now,” Biden said in a statement after speaking with Zelensky on the phone in April. Biden is now asking Congress for tens of billions more in aid for Ukraine, most of it for weapons and military assistance.
