1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The topic of today’s letter is the war in Ukraine. The start of this war was very recent. On February 24, 2022, the world watched as Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. I am confounded about President Trump’s remarks that the Ukraine started the war. Reviewing a timeline of events it is clear that Ukraine has been the victim of aggression from Russia since March 2014. Ukraine is rich in resources that Putin desires and Putin is threatened by Ukraine’s desire to join NATO. Ukraine is a sovereign nation and it is up to the people of Ukraine to make such decisions. Russia does not have the right or authority to dictate the governance of another sovereign state. In March 2014, Russian forces annex Crimea, prompting the biggest East-West showdown since the Cold War. Since 2014, violence in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 14,000 people with tens of thousands wounded and more than a million displaced. This violence has pushed the Ukrainian public to strengthen their interest in joining NATO and the EU (as seen by their admission in 2017). In 2019, President Trump briefly blocks US military aid to Ukraine, suggesting that Zelensky should instead work directly with Putin to resolve the crisis. A phone call between Trump and Zelensky in July 2019 leads to Trump asking Zelensky for a ‘favor:’ an investigation into Burisma (an energy company) as well as into the Biden family. A complaint from a White House whistleblower leads to Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019. “On Feb. 24, Russian forces launch a devastating assault on Ukrainian territory — the largest such military operation in Europe since the end of World War II. Missiles rain down on Ukraine's cities and columns of Russian troops from neighboring Belarus and from Russian-held Crimea reportedly begin streaming into the countryside. Ukrainian forces reportedly try to hold back the Russian advance on several fronts.” In response to Trump’s comment “You should have never started it,” former Republican Vice-President Mike Pence said “Mr. President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds and thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth.” I implore all elected members of the Republican party, to join former Vice President Mike Pence and stand against statements by the Trump administration that Ukraine started the war against Russia. I implore that you call out statements that are not true and hold Trump accountable to the truth. I implore you and your colleagues to put pressure on Trump to negotiate peace talks with all parties involved, including Ukraine and Europe. I implore you to make sure that the United States of America holds Russia accountable and ensures that the borders of the sovereign nation of Ukraine are respected.