The psychology of warfare is often overlooked when focusing on the hard realities of physical, active, kinetic military actions. Ed Baker (2024) wrote about the British cheer (huzza, hooray, hussaw, huzzay, or hurrah) being so important to the morale of British troops. It is in that spirit that Congressional passage of funds for Ukraine can be viewed more broadly. They are primarily aimed at ensuring that the Ukraine forces are armed and equipped for the continuing Russian assaults, but they are also of great psychological potential. It remains for the Senate to approve the revised package, and President Biden to sign this legislation, but assuming this process moves forward, this support could be a huge boost to the psychological as well as the material strength of Ukrainian forces.
Countless thanks are owed to the many who encouraged members of the US House of Representatives to support this funding. From the Ukraine’s President, Voldymyr Zelensky, to many public officials across the world, such as the UK’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, and American and European politicians, to numerous members of the public in the US and abroad, thank you. Moreover, to ordinary people, including bloggers and networked individuals who did what they could to urged the US Congress to act and support Ukraine at this critical point in time, thank you. And to the trolls focused on insulting those of us standing with Ukraine, thanks for motivating us even more to stay the course.
From far away from the debates within the Republican Party, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, swing his support behind bringing this bill to a vote in the House, despite his earlier delays, and opposition from about half of his party. Suddenly he was transformed to the role of a statesman at this critical juncture. Hurrah to all those who voted for this bill and otherwise did what they could to urge Congress to act.
You know this was right by those upset by the vote. These include Russia’s Vladmir Putin, who was clearly irritated. He must have felt he could dictate US policy. Others upset include all the autocracies of the axis of resistance, plus – inexplicably – 111 Republicans supporting Russia’s advice to the US, or former President Trump’s campaign strategy to prevent any legislative success for Biden and to block funding of Ukraine. Somehow, the national interest and the global order overcame partisan political games.
As many have said, much remains to be done. There is no proverbial silver bullet. As noted, the Senate must approve the revised legislative package and the President must sign as soon as possible. It will take time for the material to arrive to help restore and upgrade the ammunition and weapons of the Ukraine forces. But I can hope that the boost to the morale of the Ukraine people and armed forces will be more rapid and equally if not more influential. Despite being so greatly outnumbered and outgunned on the front lines, Ukraine forces have demonstrated courage and intelligence in continuing their resistance and fighting through inevitable degrees of fatique. Putin announced that Ukraine would not last two weeks without additional US funding. Six months later it is clear that he was wrong.
Moreover, having learned the harsh lesson that they cannot rely on the US or any ally to support them when and where needed, all those who supported this vote need to start supporting efforts to ensure that the supplies and personnel of the Ukraine forces are more sustainable in the coming months and years. With Ukraine building its own strategic capabilities and so many EU and NATO nations expanding their defence budgets and armaments in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there is hope that this sovereign nation will not be as dependent on the vagarious and unpredictable partisan politics within any of its allied nations.
Hurrah!
Afterword, 25 April 2024:
It is official: US President Biden said support agreed by the US Senate this week is within hours of arriving in Ukraine. In parallel, the UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, while visiting Germany, and after committing major new funding to Ukraine, underscored the sustained support of both Britain and Germany for Ukraine’s armed forces. Even more heartening and poignant was news coverage that reported “cheers” rose from the trenches of Ukraine’s frontlines as they learned that support was approved by the US House of Representatives!
Reference
Baker, E. (2024), ‘Huzza! How the ‘British cheer’ proved a valuable psychological weapon against Napoleon and his armies’, Sunday Telegraph, 21 April, p. 7.
Dutton, W. H. (2024), ‘Time is Running Out for the US’, 12 April: https://billdutton.me/2024/04/12/time-is-running-out-for-the-us/