Help Send Fighter Jets and Air Defense Systems to Ukraine

I call on the U.S. government to help transfer old Soviet-built fighter jets and air defense systems owned by the former Warsaw Pact countries to Ukraine and, if necessary, backfill their capacity with equivalent U.S. assets. According to the U.N. Charter, Ukraine has an inherent right to defend itself against the heinous Russian attack. Moreover, the Budapest Memorandum provided security assurances to Ukraine in exchange for giving up its nuclear arsenal. The U.S., as a founding member of the U.N. and one of the signatories to the Budapest Memorandum, has more than just a moral obligation to do whatever it takes to help Ukraine protect its democracy and independence. The most acute and critical need for Ukraine right now is protection of its skies. Russia has an overwhelming superiority in the air. Indiscriminate bombings and artillery fire on Ukrainian cities by the Russian forces, in violation of all international norms, cause a staggering loss of human lives and destruction of the civilian infrastructure. In besieged cities, such as Mariupol, we see a humanitarian crisis of the scale of Aleppo in the making. Please stand up to Putin and help Ukraine defend its skies.