79 years ago, Allied paratroopers landed behind the coast of Normandy in World War II. Today, although the war is long gone, it still lives on in America’s memory as the country prepares to commemorate the D-Day anniversary. However, this year’s anniversary is particularly exciting as Ukraine launches its long-awaited counterattack against the Russian aggressors.
The author acknowledges that no war is entirely a battle between good and evil, including World War II. Although the great democracies often failed to live up to their ideals, they still stood up for freedom against the forces of oppression, racial superiority, and genocide. The author notes that if Ukraine wins this war, some Ukrainian supporters abroad may be disillusioned with the darker side of the country.
Before the war, Ukraine ranked higher than Russia on the perceived corruption index, and Ukraine has far-right movements involved in the war. However, like the Allies’ deficiencies in World War II, these shadows do not create equal relations between the two sides in this war. Ukraine is an imperfect but true democracy and wants to join the larger democratic community. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a malevolent actor, and friends of freedom around the world must want Russia to be utterly defeated.
The author notes that some Americans oppose aid to Ukraine, but this opposition stems from a lack of understanding of the moral equivalence of World War II. Those who oppose aid to Ukraine on the left often remember the false pretenses for the 2003 war on Iraq, while those on the right often admire Russia’s authoritarian regime. However, the stakes in Ukraine are high, and a successful counterattack in Ukraine would strengthen democracy in the United States and around the world.
While Western officials are optimistic about Ukraine’s potential, the author acknowledges that strengthening defenses, which Ukraine must do, is very difficult. On the eve of D-Day, Dwight Eisenhower told the Expeditionary Force, “The eyes of the world are on you.” Now the eyes of the world are on the Ukrainian military, and the author hopes they succeed.