Continued support for Ukraine benefits the United States, says Council of Churches

The United States has greatly benefited from the significant depletion of Russia’s military resources because of the brave resistance of the Ukrainians.

The Council of Ukrainian Christian Churches of Washington State stated this in appeals addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump, Speaker of Congress Mike Johnson, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging them to continue military and intelligence support for Ukraine’s defenders.

“Russia has lost the majority of its modern military equipment on the battlefield in Ukraine, valued at over $88 billion, which has saved the United States substantial costs in maintaining its military leadership worldwide. Russia has been significantly weakened as a competitor and as one of the main threats to the United States—an outcome made possible by the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian defenders and the resilience of Ukraine’s civilian population.”

According to the leaders of Ukrainian churches in Washington, since the Cold War era, Russia, as the successor of the Soviet Union, has remained one of the main threats to global peace and prosperity, including that of the American people. The Council of Churches believes that a ceasefire and lasting peace are only possible if Russia is forced into a peace deal through strength, as the aggressor understands only the language of strong resistance and fair retaliation.

“The Ukrainian people, as victims of Russian aggression, want peace more than anyone and seek to stop Russia’s attempts to destroy Ukraine as a state and nation and its ongoing genocide against Ukrainians. However, Russian forces will halt airstrikes and withdraw from Ukraine’s sovereign territory only when the cost of invasion becomes too great for Russia to bear.”

Ukrainian religious leaders in Washington are convinced that if Russia is not stopped, its aggression will not be limited to Ukraine. Just as Hitler’s occupation of Austria and parts of former Czechoslovakia in 1938, as well as Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, were not isolated events, other countries later suffered from unchecked military aggression.

The Council of Churches urges President Donald Trump and the House of Representatives to maintain U.S. military and intelligence support for Ukraine, which is vital for its defense forces and the protection of civilians from Russian airstrikes and offensives.

The appeals were signed by Pastor Oleksandr Savchuk, Chair of the Council of Ukrainian Christian Churches of Washington State, along with the leaders of 14 other Ukrainian Christian churches representing believers of various denominations in Washington State, including Pentecostals, Baptists, Orthodox, Greek Catholics, and others.