36 American Artists, Scholars, Activists Petition US Congress: "Support Ukraine" – Say Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Timothy Snyder, and Others
"Congress must allow Ukraine to win," say Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Imagine Dragons, Timothy Snyder and other American artists, activists and scholars. They call on the US Congress to approve funding to help Ukraine because Russia is preparing a new offensive and if the Russian army breaks through, it will be the US' fault.
The appeal to US lawmakers was signed by 36 American artists, scholars and activists, including historian Timothy Snyder, actors Sean Penn, Barbra Streisand, Imagine Dragons and astronaut Scott Kelly, CNN reports.
"Ukrainians are fighting for their existence. In the occupied territories, Russia is torturing Ukrainian citizens, abducting Ukrainian children and killing Ukrainian leaders. On the territory it can reach with its weapons, it strikes at civilians and rescuers. Russian missiles, drones and bombs destroy churches and Holocaust monuments. The Russian occupation threatens Ukrainian Muslims and Crimean Tatars," the statement reads.
The text of the document also notes that Russian leaders openly speak about their goal - the destruction of the Ukrainian state and the destruction of Ukrainians as a people.
"Russian propagandists threaten genocide almost every day. Right now, Russia is using missiles and bombs to destroy the ancient and beautiful city of Kharkiv, once home to 1.5 million people, just as it destroyed Mariupol, Aleppo and Grozny," the signatories said.
According to them, Ukrainians are also fighting for "our security and everyone's freedom" and by resisting the Russian dictatorship, they are showing that democracy can defend itself.
"By defending their borders, they are protecting the international order and restraining chaos. By fighting Russia alone, they are defending Europe. By showing how difficult offensive operations are, Ukrainians are making a Chinese war in the Pacific less likely. By waging a conventional war against a nuclear power, they make nuclear proliferation and nuclear war less likely," the statement reads.
The signatories emphasise that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are protecting core American interests, doing things that Americans cannot do on their own.
"By absorbing the entire Russian attack, they make other wars in Europe impossible. They are deterring China without provoking Beijing in any way. By showing that a nuclear power can be resisted, they are teaching other countries that they do not need to build nuclear weapons. For two years, Ukrainians have been defending us and their people. Most Americans understand this and want to help Ukraine. And most elected representatives do too," they write.
The appeal notes that the United States is letting Ukrainians down. According to the activists, 474 days have passed since Congress passed a law in support of Ukraine, which is most of the time since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Activists emphasise that if Ukraine fails, the world will become much more dangerous.
"It will be a world where we can expect war in Europe and war in Asia. A world in which Russia can cut off the food supply to the Middle East and Africa that Ukraine is currently supplying. A world without rules and a world full of nuclear weapons. And then it will be too late to do what is easy now: to help an ally who is fighting the fight of his life by passing a law in Congress," they said.
According to the signatories, it will be too late to do what seems easy now: help an ally who is fighting for his life by passing legislation in Congress.
"Spend five cents of the defence dollar, one cent of the total budget dollar, most of which stays in the US anyway. We must not let our allies down. Around the world, everyone who looks at us thinks that Ukraine is an easy choice for us. It is a democracy, and we claim to support democracies," the statement reads.
As a reminder, on 13 February, the United States Senate approved a $95.3 billion international aid bill, which includes funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The document provides more than $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $4.83 billion to support partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan, and to deter Chinese aggression.
It will also provide $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine and other conflict zones around the world.
For final approval, the bill must be voted on by the House of Representatives and then signed by US President Joe Biden. However, the vote has not yet taken place.