WITH A full-scale war raging in Ukraine for over the past year it’s important to understand why we should care about the outcome of a country very few have visited or know much about.

Simply put, the Russian invasion will have a real impact on America and Europe’s national security.

Washington’s support for Ukrainian democracy is our best guarantee against further wars and for the continuation of peace.

Ukraine was recognised as an independent state by Russia more than 30 years ago.

The Charter of Paris, signed in November 1990 by the United States, Russia and 30 European countries, established essential principles for a post-war era based on international law and global norms.

Subsequently, Russia, the United States and Great Britain guaranteed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in 1995 in the Budapest Memorandum.

I hope that helps explain our involvement with Ukraine.

Moscow has no more legal basis to insist on any portion of the territory of Ukraine than Germany has the right to demand the return of Alsace and Lorraine from France.

If the West accepts such Russian claims, it will not only undermine the sovereignty of European countries but also invite other nations to seek territory through military force.

Despite such clear historical precedents, polls suggest Americans have mixed feelings about how the United States should respond to Ukraine.

In an astonishing interview, former President Donald Trump praised Putin as a ‘genius’. Others argued Biden had not been tough enough on Moscow.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for global unity, advising Biden that the world is watching how America and its allies respond to Russian aggression.

The one thing we all know for certain are the news reports from every territory reclaimed from Russia in Ukraine and witnessed by UN inspectors, they have all suffered from genocide and torture. Hence the urgency to rid Putin’s fascists regime from Ukraine.

There is no excuse for what Russia is doing.

MIKE FRY

Moorland Crescent, Upton