“The past is never dead. It’s not even past” – William Faulkner 

President Putin’s leadership of Russia has proven that military force and violence achieves political objectives, and it will not stop at Ukraine. 

• Ukraine – 2022 
• Georgia – 2008 
• Crimea – 2014 

Ukraine’s fight is our fight, and Ukraine’s security is our transatlantic and transpacific security. Ukraine is clearly in the front line of preventing China’s invasion of Taiwan. Chinese President Xi is studying what Russia and President Putin’s leadership can get away with against the Western World. What happens in Ukraine today matters because it will happen in the Indo-Pacific tomorrow if Putin’s leadership is unchecked as it has been for the last decade. Regional events today around the world no longer just impact regional stability, they clearly impact global security. We are and have found ourselves in a war of attrition in Ukraine between the West and the East. Without air superiority and abiding by policy restrictions on striking the kill chain, Russia’s is escalating the use of air threats—including cheap drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and glide bombs to force the cost curve of defense in their favor. Russ is intensifying its targeting of Ukrainian cities, civilians, and critical infrastructure with these tactics.  

Ukraine’s requirement for advanced air defense capabilities is urgent and undeniable. Ukraine’s call for increased air defense aid spotlights to the West the necessity of countering the evolving Russian air and missile threats. NATO and its allies are responded decisively, ramping up the production of air defense systems and prioritizing their delivery to Ukraine. In a significant act of international solidarity for Ukraine, Israel, Romania, and Poland have set aside their own national security for global security committed to transferring their Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. This move clearly states the mandate of Ukraine to the West, as the cost of defeat on this War of Attrition is tenfold the cost in the future if Russia remains unchecked. 

Current developments of North Korea’s launch of a Hwasong-6 hypersonic missile yesterday and Russia’s movement into Cuba last month, amplify the urgency of a unified international defense stance. The alliance of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, with Chinese complicity in sharing technologies and mass production of cheap drones, is significant threat to the West. 

Air Defense is existential for Ukraine. We reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine, underscoring our dedication to global security and stability. The longer our political and practical commitment to support Ukraine, the shorter the war will be. To Note: 

• Russia has failed strategically, failed to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign independent nation, failed to destroy NATO unity. 
• NATO is bigger, stronger, faster, and more united than ever. 
• Over 500,000 NATO forces are on high readiness, and a new multi-domain Allied Reaction Force has been deployed on the first of July 
• 23 NATO Allies are at 2% or more of GDP on defense 

It is the Sound of Russian Drones and Missiles that ignite the Fury of Ukraine and the international community to defeat Russia.