Someone named Ted Galen Carpenter, who claims to have better credentials than I, writes for The American Conservative that Ukraine is not a cuddly little puppy dog of a country and has a track record of being relatively corrupt. No kidding?
Some firm in Ukraine paid Joe Biden’s drugged-out whoremonger of a son - Hunter - millions for doing nothing. Of course it is corrupt, it is Eastern European and the entire region is corrupt - Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia - all corrupt.
So no, Ukraine isn’t Denmark or Sweden. The region (including Russia) spent 50-70 years under the Soviet thumb, and the last 30 years trying to get over that foul experience. Their progress isn’t terrible, but they have a fair way to go yet.
All of which matters not even a little. What is abundantly clear is that Ukraine was sitting there minding its own business, bothering nobody, no military threat to Russia, and got invaded, brutally. Who the bad guy is here is not in question, it is Putin.
Zelensky may not be a George Washington but he is brave, determined, media savvy and patriotic. We are not able to both give him everything he wants to defend his country and stay out of war with Russia - something we very much want to avoid.
Still, Ukrainians are fighting and dying for their country, in a fight they didn't ask for. The bully is Russia, personified by V. Putin. Ukraine deserves and is getting our arms-length support.
Observing the obvious - that Ukraine has blemishes - is unhelpful. What country has none?
