Recently, we have heard about Ukraine having issues with its government. The Russian-leaning president, Viktor Yanukovich, fled to that country and a Western-friendly government took over in Kiev. Russia has tried taking control of Crimea, where it holds an important military base, and wants Ukraine to surrender two warships.
So much has been going on with Ukraine within the past few months that some are relying on the U.S. to solve the problem. The question is, what should our country do? Should we even attempt to help? These concerns have been brought up to Congress and President Barack Obama.
According to csmonitor.com, this is an issue that has been addressed to Congress. However, there is no need to send American militants over in the short term and certainly none for war. Furthermore, these issues are having a negative impact on the economy. From the standpoint of an American civilian, I think the U.S. should do what it originally proposed, which was to provide an aid package for Ukraine. But we should not interfere by using military force.
Ukraine is struggling economically, as it’s nearly bankrupt. U.S. lawmakers are trying to come up with some sort of financial solution, whether it’s loan guarantees or another type of aid. But the U.S. is in no position to financially help other countries when it is not fully fiscally sound itself.
Unfortunately, the situation between Ukraine and Russia is financially hurting not only those nations but others as well. The Russian bank will announce a “temporary” 1.5 percent rise in interest rates to 7 percent.
According to tradeeconomics.com, Ukraine’s GDP only amounts to 0.28 percent.
Natural gas and oil markets in Europe are also worried. A good amount of Russian natural gas for that continent goes through Ukraine and with that, the prices for natural gas have gone up 6 percent in some of the markets. Oil prices also went up. Major oil companies have investments in Russia, which brings concerns.
America has been taking heavy economic hits like a punching bag for the past several years to help other countries solve their issues, and our economy has tanked as a result. Unemployment has risen and Americans are finding it more difficult to meet the cost of living.
Based on the results of former U.S. involvement abroad, I think we should just send an aid package to Ukraine, no military assistance. Our nation should sit this one out and let other countries interfere if they so desire. We need to fix our problems and our economic stance before we put anything else onto our plate.