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It is the responsibility of all of us as leaders to recognize how the fall of Ukraine will affect the security and prosperity of every American. In addition to strengthening the Sino-Russian alliance and potentially increasing the likelihood of China’s invasion of Taiwan, the costs of a Russian victory in Ukraine could be astronomical for the US. After absorbing Ukraine, Putin would likely absorb Belarus into a new Russian empire that would threaten the borders of Romania, Slovakia and Poland—a new map that would likely require the redeployment of U.S. troops to Europe, and major increases in overall U.S. defense spending as the US would now have to once again help defend Europe from a growing Russian threat while also preparing to defend its partners, allies, and its own territory from Chinese aggression. In other words, arming Ukraine is not just the right thing to do; it is a bargain compared with the alternative—something General Marshall would surely have recognized.
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Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Speaker: Jen Easterly, Director of CISA
Format: Speech
China Policy Research 