Russia's nearly three month old invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the deaths of several thousand Ukrainians and the displacement of more than 12 million.
Most Western leaders are trying to help Ukraine in good faith. But there are those within the West who are acting at the behest of Russia.
President Biden recently pledged $40 billion of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This passed the House but it has been blocked from proceeding by Senator Rand Paul (Republican - Kremlin, er, Kentucky). Paul is objecting on account of fiscal responsibility complaining that, "Congress just wants to keep spending, and spending."
But Paul is a longstanding apologist for Russia. It was only last month that Paul told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Ukraine was "part of Russia". Somehow I doubt Paul would be arguing fiscal responsibility if the military and humanitarian were headed to Moscow. Paul's stonewalling is no surprise given his ongoing blockage of military aid to Israel for its Iron Dome.
However, Senator Paul is far from alone in aiding and abetting Vladimir Putin's cause. Russia's aggression in Ukraine has prompted Finland to formally apply for membership in NATO with Sweden expected to follow suit. But Turkish President Erdogan announced his opposition to Finland and Sweden's entry into NATO effectively quashing the effort to expand the alliance. Erdogan claims Finland and Sweden are "home to many terrorist organizations" in reference to its support for the Kurds. But this is nothing more than a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black given Erdogan's long standing support for Hamas.
While it is true that Turkey has provide some military aid to Ukraine it has refused to impose sanctions on Russia. At best, Turkey is playing both sides of the fence. But to have a NATO member refusing to accept expansion serves only Russian interests. Frankly, Turkey ought to be jettisoned from NATO but they won't kick out a country with such a large military.
The long and short of Senator Paul and President Erdogan's actions is that Russia gets to continue its aggression and more Ukrainians will be forced from their homes while others will die.
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