Mitigating the threat of Ukraine fatigue

Ukraine’s unyielding resistance to Vladimir Putin’s autocratic aggression has improved the country’s reputation on the international stage and led to a powerful alliance between Presidents Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, the greatest test of this partnership has yet to come. There is no end in sight to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Ukraine’s military is highly dependent on U.S. aid. Although iticians pander to these groups, presumably because they now make up a notable share of the Republican base.

Since the 1970s, evangelical Christians have been gaining political power. Televangelist

Jerry Falwell was instrumental in drumming up evangelical support for Ronald Reagan, and the group has consistently voted Republican since. Evangelicals have been most vocal in their support for Christian nationalism, with 81% of white evangelicals arguing that the United States should be a Christian nation. The influence of evangelicals among conservatives is illuminated both through the selection of evangelical Christian Mike Pence as Donald Trump’s running mate and in the evangelical-backed policy shifts enacted by Trump during his presidency. The most significant of these changes has been the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a move that evangelicals fought hard for and which was accomplished after Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his presidency. The decision was authored by five conservative Christians who applied a Christian doctrinal view in their determination of what constitutes a “human person.” It is a dangerous practice to apply a religious perspective to an issue that has such tan- the Biden administration has supported Ukraine rhetorically and politically, it is not surprising that Ukrainian leaders may worry that American politicians will not support a foreign war indefinitely. This strategic partnership is currently at a high point after decades of ups and downs, but future military aid could be jeopardized by a lack of support on Capitol Hill. Therefore, Kyiv faces external pressure to achieve sustained military success, as they must prove to Washington that military support is a worthwhile investment.

Unfortunately, Western countries have historically become disinterested in assisting Ukraine when Kyiv fails to meet its objectives. Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution, a revolt in protest of fraudulent electoral results, was seen by Western nations as a potential inflection point after which gible consequences in people’s lives. People affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade are placed under the influence of a religious moral perspective that they may disagree with.

Christian nationalists now seem intent on fighting for the ideal of a white Christian nation, and their increasing extremism poses substantial threats to our democracy. For example, in the 2017 Charlottesville riots, white supremacists chanted “Jews will not replace us,” an idea that has been sold to and bought by conservative Christians as the ‘great replacement’ theory. The great replacement theory is a conspiracy theory that posits that the United States is being attacked in a plot by the Jewish elite and leftists in an effort to take the country from white Americans by replacing them with minorities. The census projects that the United States will “become minority white in 2045,” though there is no evidence to suggest that this is a result of any coordinated effort by elites in order to dominate white Christian Americans. Given that half of conservative white people believe that “being a Christian is very important to being truly American,” this frighteningly widespread belief threatens the principle of religious freedom in the United States. This ideology was not only cited by the Buffalo

Ukraine could democratize. However, Kyiv’s failure to reform in the years following the Orange Revolution created a sense of “Ukraine fatigue” within Washington, as legislators grew tired of providing aid that was perceived as unhelpful. The concept of “Ukraine fatigue” is fundamental to the current U.S.-Ukraine dynamic, as history indicates that America treats aid to Ukraine as an investment that must yield results.

Currently, domestic political support for assistance to Ukraine remains high, but questions regarding Ukraine fatigue linger. Military support requires congressional approval, and some Republicans believe that the United States should not spend taxpayer dollars on a foreign war. Members of the Trump-affiliated MAGA wing of the Republican party — led by firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz — fittingly introduced shooter as a justification for his racist massacre but also supported by figures such as Tucker Carlson, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Gov. Greg Abbott. a “Ukraine Fatigue” resolution to halt all aid to Kyiv. Recent political developments in Washington have delivered mixed results from a Ukrainian perspective. Far-right Trump allies had limited electoral success in the 2022 midterms, but Republicans recaptured control of the House of Representatives, and MAGA-aligned representatives currently exercise disproportionate power in the GOP’s slim majority. Although Biden and the governing Democratic Party have remained steadfast in their support of Ukraine, a vocal Republican minority could jeopardize the future of the Kyiv-Washington strategic partnership.

The anti-democratic violence inherent to the Christian nationalist movement was best displayed at the Jan. 6 insurrection, where imagery and rhetoric were rife with Christian nationalism, such as banners reading “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.” The comparison between Trump and Jesus is quite striking; perhaps Christian nationalists see Trump as a Godlike leader with the capacity to run the country in accordance with their religious principles.

The Russian invasion poses an existential threat to both Ukrainian sovereignty and the health of global democracy. Although opponents of American aid contend that the war does not affect the United

An authoritarian religious government would make the United States not unlike the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, different only in that it is governed with Christian law instead of an Islamic one.

Many Christian nationalists are now rejecting the ideals of democracy or religious freedom, and their increasing numbers and capacity for violence presents a grave threat to our country. They envision themselves as being involved in a war of good vs. evil, with the ‘good’ being a white Christian nation. It is not absurd to worry about the threat of this war actualizing, as conservative media and politicians continue to fan its flames.

States directly, failure to support Kyiv would undermine Washington’s commitment to defending democracy and embolden supporters of autocracy worldwide. Fortunately, both Biden and Zelenskyy have recently made public steps to strengthen their mutual strategic partnership. Zelenskyy met with U.S. representatives in Washington to publicly — and successfully — lobby for additional aid, and Biden visited Kyiv in daring fashion to reiterate support for Ukraine. Although the grinding nature of the war may play into the narrative of Ukraine fatigue, there is reason to believe that upholding global democracy is a sufficiently strong incentive for Washington to maintain its strategic partnership with Kyiv.

Eli Striker is a senior studying international relations. Eli can be reached at eli.striker@tufts.edu.

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by Keshav Srikant

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