I'll admit that I thought it was going to be pretty quick, too. I figured the sheer weight of combined arms Russia could muster would do the deed.
Everyone bought Russia's line that "We ARE a superpower comparable to the USA!
There are a couple of big reasons why I am all for arming Ukraine.
The first, and most obviously, is I HATE Russia. I've hated Russia and the Russians since I was a kid and they were, as the Soviets, a legitimate superpower.
I think I developed such a hatred for them because there were so many people in the US and around the world looking at the US's military, political, and economic problems in the 1970s and proclaiming the perpetual decline and eventual death of American and celebrating what they believe to be the moral and economic ascendency of the Soviet Union.
I had a couple of professors in college (1983 to 1987) who absolutely HATED Ronald Reagan because he dared... he DARED!!! to challenge the Soviets for the right to be top dog. I always wondered what they felt when the Soviet Union collapsed completely and their vision of a glorious world socialist state died with it? I hope they cried.
The other reason why I'm all for arming Ukraine is it's a perfect demonstration for the Chinese of NATO's weapons capabilities. The Chinese think that their weapons are comparable to NATO's, and the war in Ukraine is showing them a very different picture. The Russians thought the same thing, but it's very likely that the Chinese have figured out that their weapons are ahead of Russian weapons, but still nothing like NATO weapons.
No, there aren't many Chinese weapons in the fight in Ukraine, but the Chinese are seeing NATO weapon capabilities that they can't even dream of, and that's giving them some pause.
