Regardless of how horrific the bombardment of Ukraine is or how many innocent civilians are slaughtered, it remains unlikely the U.S. or any NATO country will use military force to intervene.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said during a virtual press conference from her Washington office Thursday she sees no chance of military action.
“It is horrifying to watch innocent people in a free country being overrun,” she said. “It’s like I am watching a movie from the 1940s. It is just brutal. A million people have left that country.”
Ukrainians are “fighting like heck,” she said, but it’s hard for them to fight the massive Russian army.
“I don’t see a scenario where we put boots on the ground,” she said of direct military intervention. “I can’t speak for NATO, but I don’t see the will of the American people to put our men and women in harm’s way at this point in time.”
Help is limited because Ukraine is not a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
Capito said help is being provided in supplies and military weapons, including stinger missiles (to bring down fighter jets) and javelins (for tanks), and “we are going to keep providing that.”
She also supports providing more money for Ukraine.
Pres. Joe Biden is asking Congress for $10 billion more for aid to Ukraine, which she is in favor of.
Although boots on the ground may be out, Capito said there is a larger picture that Americans should pay close attention to.
“Will (Russian Pres. Vladimir) Putin stop in Ukraine?” she asked. “Will he head over to Poland next?”
Poland is a member of NATO as well as other countries bordering Russia or Belarus including Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
All NATO members are committed to help each other militarily if one of the countries is attacked.
“This is why it’s so important for the American people to watch this and build a will to keep in it for the Ukrainian people,” she said. “But I don’t see us crossing over to active forces on the ground at all.”
Capito supports drastic sanctions against Russia, many of which are in place.
Biden said during his State of the Union Address Tuesday night that the sanctions will “inflict pain” on Putin and he applauded the Ukrainians for their courage.
But he has also said there is currently no scenario for sending in troops as threats of possible nuclear retaliation have been put on the table by Putin.
The strategy with sanctions is to eventually damage the Russian economy to the point Putin will be under enough pressure in his own country to stop the war. If Ukraine can hold out long enough, Russia could be forced internally to back off.