Dear President Biden,

We are a group of citizens, from different parts of the world, who are extremely concerned about Ukraine's fate.

After having interacted with many former generals, intellectuals, journalists and, above all, Ukrainian military commanders and soldiers in the field, we have come to the conclusion that the course this war of aggression has taken is not the right one and this is at least partially caused by the United States' indecisive policy toward Ukraine.

In the opinion of those experts we have interacted with, what Ukraine needs to win this war and liberate all the occupied territories, Crimea included, is the provision of two types of weapons: long-range missiles and F-16s.

We are aware that the training on F-16 is reserved to only six Ukrainian pilots and that it is going to start next summer. We consider this unacceptable. The number of pilots who will undergo training must absolutely be increased and the training itself must start as soon as possible. As stated above, the provision of long-range weapons is crucial for Ukraine to be able to strike targets into its own territory, above all into Crimea, in order both to cut Russian communication lines, destroy arms depots and the Russian Black Sea fleet.

Without these kinds of weapons the Ukranians are fighting with one hand tied behind their back. In order to guarantee a faster, more efficient way of supplying weapons to Ukraine, we ask you, Mr. President, to allow Ukraine to get the right weapons at the right time without delay or great expense.

The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act could be used to speed up arms without additional need for legislation for aid packages. The bill was passed unanimously in the US Senate on April 6, 2022, and passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 417–10 on April 28, 2022.

To all this we need to add the question of sanctions. If unprecedented wide sanctions have been imposed on the Russian Federation, how come has its economy been growing?

Moreover, the Russian Federation has been able to increase its production of cruise missiles. Therefore, either the sanctions are aimed at the wrong sectors and individuals or they are not being implemented in the right way. We need to strangle the Russian economy and to do this we must apply stronger sanctions and close all the loopholes that render these sanctions ineffective.

There are also media reports about some back-channel discussions between the US and the Russian Federation and a kind of informal agreement that might force Ukraine to settle with Russian and cede part of its territory. This will likely result in a frozen conflict, an open wound ready to fester. We have many examples of this failed approach: from the wars in Yugoslavia to the Nagorno Karabakh situation.

There appears to be a contradiction between your public statements and your actions. You have been emphatically assuring Ukraine and the world about your intent to fully support Ukraine. Your fiery speeches in Warsaw and Kyiv conveyed a great promise. And yet analysts and lay people routinely discuss the indications of US policy being one to preserve Russia as it is instead of fully defeating it. This would be an embarrassment for the United States and a betrayal of Ukraine.

We want a Ukraine that is sovereign and independent, a Ukraine that is free to decide its own future, whatever that may be.

For all these reasons we urge you to reconsider your policy towards Ukraine and provide the badly needed F-16 and long-range missiles.

We also urge you to explicitly state that the United States' goal is for Ukraine to win.

We urge you to do this as soon as possible because, as you know, every delay costs Ukrainian lives.

 

Yours sincerely.