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Why Other Countries Aren’t Helping to Fight Russia’s Invasion in Ukraine

2022-02-27 , 1:06 pm

By now, we already know how other countries are responding to the invasion. Sanctions, calls for diplomatic talks, supplying weapons… But the one thing that nobody is willing to do is send troops to help Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion.

Ever wondered why? Here are some key reasons, summarised for you.

Ukraine Isn’t In NATO, Which Means No Treaty Responsibilities

With Ukraine being an Eastern European country, it is understandable why most expectations for action falls onto the European countries, and by proxy, the largest military alliance there.

According to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), an attack against any NATO country is considered an attack against all. This makes members obligated to defend each other in the event of war.

However, despite Ukraine’s desire to join NATO and NATO’s refusal to tell Russia that Ukraine won’t be allowed to join the alliance… Ukraine isn’t actually part of NATO.

This means that the countries in this military alliance isn’t obligated to help Ukraine. Since they don’t have to, they’re not going to risk their citizens’ lives for Ukraine.

If A NATO Country Joins The War, It Could Trigger An European War

Another issue about NATO’s Article 5 is that if any NATO country joins the war and Russian troops attack their troops, it would mean that Russia is attacking NATO, and all NATO members would have to get involved.

This would thus trigger a European war, and throw the entire European continent into chaos. Nobody wants that, and would rather contain the war to just Ukraine by not interfering.

Yes, this sounds kind of heartless, but it is pragmatic. These countries can only do the next best thing, which is supplying weapons and slapping sanctions and international pressure on Russia.

Or implement another kind of NATO: No Action Talk Only.

Nobody Wants A War (Or To Participate In One) Amidst Bread and Butter Issues

Yes, the governments don’t want to risk their citizens’ lives for Ukraine, or risk the war spreading to the rest of the world. But this is also because the international community doesn’t want a war in the first place.

With everyone advocating for peace, sending troops in to support the war effort would seem hypocritical. Additionally, with COVID-19 and the Russo-Ukraine war increasing prices of commodities like gasoline and food…let’s just say most governments would rather focus on internal issues than concern themselves with a war they don’t have to get involved in.

In other words, don’t busybody.

The US Doesn’t Want To Risk A Cold War V2.0

With the US being one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine and even supplying US$350 million worth of weapons to them, why aren’t they sending troops?

Well, it’s no secret that the two largest nuclear powers in the world is the United States and Russia. US President Biden certainly doesn’t want a remix of the Cold War, where the entire world faced the very real danger of getting wiped out if the two superpowers start firing their nuclear weapons.

If the US sends troops into Ukraine, there could be a direct clash between American and Russian troops, which may spiral downhill very quickly.

The president had also told NBC, “We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very difficult situation, and things could go crazy quickly.”

Simply put, between a nuclear war that could end in the death of millions of lives within hours and a conventional war that could end in the death of ten of thousands of lives, the choice is clear.

Non-European Countries Do Not Face Security Threat (For Now) And Wants To See Diplomatic Resolution

If this war spreads, it would spread to Europe first. Non-European countries thus do not face an urgent security threat from Russia’s invasion, which doesn’t compel them to have more drastic actions.

This is why you don’t see Southeast Asia sending military equipment to Ukraine, while European countries are doing so.

But this isn’t to say that non-European countries are staying unbothered. They are still concerned, but are taking milder actions like applying international pressure through statements of condemnation. But you shouldn’t expect to see any troops getting sent to Ukraine anytime soon.

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Putin’s Warning Against Interfering

Last but not least, Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously warned other countries against intervening in the conflict.

“To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside: if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history.”

Nobody really knows what Putin means, but this warning sounds ominous enough that most countries probably won’t want to know what he means.

While countries probably won’t be sending troops in, the international community will still try to pressure Russia into stopping the invasion. Well, except China, who still refuses to call this an invasion.

To know why Russia has invaded Ukraine and what other countries are doing about it, you can watch these videos to the end:

Also, this article is accurate as of 27 February 2022. Who knows what’s going to happen next, right?