Opinion by Henry Olsen | Ron DeSantis’s stance on Ukraine is a serious political blunder
His statement also displays a massive misunderstanding of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict itself. By labeling it a “territorial dispute,” he seems to suggest the war is over whether the Russian-speaking regions within Ukraine should remain a part of that nation. That is not why Russia invaded its neighbor.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has worked for more than 20 years to bring Ukraine back under Russian control. In 2013, hethen-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a Russian ally, to abandon a trade deal he was about to sign with the E.U. in favor of financial aid from Moscow. That led to the 2014 Maidan Revolution in which furious Ukrainians ousted Yanukovych from office.regarding Ukrainian national identity.
This doesn’t mean the governor is entirely wrong about U.S. policy toward Ukraine. He is right that the United States should not push for regime change in Russia or deploy its own military to help Ukraine. It’s in the national interest to deny Putin control of the bulk of Ukraine, but not to engage in a moral crusade to push him from power.
DeSantis can clean up some of the damage he has created by making a more comprehensive statement. He should explicitly back more U.S. aid to Ukraine and its eventual membership in the E.U. He should also clearly state that the NATO alliance is not a one-way street and note that U.S. support for Europe requires its nations to back the United States in its goals. He should aim to be neither a global crusader nor an isolationist.
DeSantis will not supplant Trump as the undisputed leader of MAGAdom, and he shouldn’t try. His path forward is to build a cross-factional alliance and create a new, bigger Republican Party. The fact that he doesn’t seem to see that should give those flocking to his banner reason for concern.
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