What is the American Interest in Ukraine’s Territorial Integrity?

In the midst of the debates and battles over the defense of Ukraine against Russian invaders it is important to return to first principles. What is or should be America’s foreign policy theory regarding an assault on the territorial integrity of Ukraine? Are there issues which transcend the military and strategic threats posed by Russian aggression? Do we have pre-existing obligations to Ukraine? Why does the Russian invasion necessitate and trigger a definitive response on the part of the United States?

American interest in the preservation of Ukrainian territorial sovereignty against Russian aggression is based on the following :

(1) Our Fundamental Opposition to Unjustifiable Wars of Conquest Against Sovereign Nations, especially when carried out on civilian populations; our recognition that aggressor nations who commit these acts are engaged in warcrimes; and our concern that such behavior necessarily escalates international conflict and may pose a direct assault on U.S. vital security interest and an existential threat to the peace of the modern world.

(2) Our Covenantal Agreement to Defend Ukraine against any Russian assault on their Territorial Integrity, an agreement made between the President of the United States and the nation of Ukraine in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, in exchange for Ukrainian nuclear disarmament, thus placing Ukraine in a position of vulnerability.

(3) Our Hard-Fought, Historic Cold War Legacy of opposition to Soviet Aggression and imperialism towards sovereign nations in light of the present militaristic Soviet-revival vision of the Russian state.

(4) Our Role Preserving the Post-World War II Rules-Based International Order, including a commitment to treaties, conventions, and legal presumptions about the behavior of nations which are necessary preconditions for the deescalation of international conflict and the avoidance of the very circumstances and globe threatening realities embodied by the Second World War.

(5) Our Moral, Philosophical, and Treaty-Reinforced Commitment Against Warcrimes, including state-backed terrorism against civilians as a military strategy, a practice modeled by Russia in Ukraine and elsewhere.

(6) Our Advocacy for the Freedom of All People and opposition to Marxist Leninism or any derivative form of state-sponsored oppression which enslaves individuals and denies their God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

(7) Our Humanitarian and Ethical Disposition as a nation to stand with the suffering and oppressed.

(8) Our Solidarity With European Allies, many of whom were liberated from Nazi and Russian aggression and dominance; our recognition that these allies are the first line of defense against Soviet-style expansionism; our acknowledgment of Russian threats to their territorial integrity, and our respect for America’s treaty-bound NATO commitments which require us to stand with our European allies against Russian aggression.

(9) Our Recognition that Half-Fought Wars are Unethical, and anything short of a decisive strategy for complete victory leads to prolonged death, suffering and emboldens an enemy with the values and objectives presently held by Russia, to greater acts of aggression, warcrimes and terror against men, women and children.