The Ukraine War Is Still the Test of American Freedom BY Elena Davlikanova, and Thomas F. Remington

Ukraine’s ideals are American ideals, and those ideals need ammunition.
This year, the United States of America celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence. The Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776, represented a bold, visionary commitment to founding a self-governing republic liberated from the tyranny of the British Empire, which had imposed its rules arbitrarily on the American colonies.

Americans demanded freedom from imperial control and the right to make their own rules for governing themselves as a nation. For the last 250 years, Americans have recognized that the dictatorship of empires denies the rights to self-government of subject peoples not only through unjust laws but also barbaric violence. Throughout its history, America has often tried to support nations struggling to be free.

On August 24, despite all the odds, Ukraine marks its 35th Independence Day. By the whims of history, its independence was declared first, and the war for independence was delayed for 23 years. Ukrainian Thomas Paines are writing Common Sense of the 21st century to counter modern imperial tyrants.

Just as Americans got creative with asymmetric measures to defend their independence against the mighty British imperial navy, Ukraine—despite having no fleet—deterred Russians from the Black Sea. Today’s Ukrainian George Washingtons are creating the doctrines and methods of the new generation of warfare.

America secured its independence with decisive help from France, once Britain’s most formidable rival. Ukraine now requires the same clarity of purpose from the only power Moscow genuinely fears: the United States. Ronald Reagan reduced his strategy toward the Soviet Union to four words: “We win, they lose.” That conviction—not another attempt to manage Russian aggression at Ukraine’s cost—must guide Western policy today.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is approaching its independence anniversary with less help than ever and foggy partners’ strategy toward Russia. In the month since July 4, 351 Russian missiles were launched, of which Ukraine intercepted only 156—fewer than half.

The attack of August 4–5 that took the lives of 17 civilians was one gruesome example. Out of 24 ballistic missiles, four Zircon-type missiles and 115 drones, Ukraine stopped 98 drones but intercepted none of the missiles. While media report that warehouses, railway infrastructure, businesses and residential areas were struck, people say it felt like a man-made Armageddon.

Ukraine’s difficulty has not been a failure to fight: missile interceptor deliveries during 2026 have fallen to roughly one-third of the previous year’s level. This is the logic of Russia’s campaign. Drones force Ukraine to expend ammunition, aircraft, and exhausted air-defense crews; cruise missiles complicate the picture; and ballistic missiles arrive when the defensive system is already saturated. Meanwhile, Western political attention is drifting away.

On September 1, Ukrainian children will go to schools under unprotected skies, as Moscow is planning a winter campaign to bomb Kyiv back into the Stone Age. More people will freeze to death in their own apartments.

For people in southern and eastern parts of Ukraine, drones above roads, bus stops, markets and playgrounds have become a daily life-threatening danger. Moreover, Russian drone operators amuse themselves with a human safari. This month, a Russian drone hunted for a 52-year-old vegetable seller before striking close enough to injure him.

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The strategic effect outweighs the damage caused by each individual drone. A city does not need to be occupied if its streets cannot be crossed safely. A community can be emptied by making buses, ambulances, delivery vehicles and pedestrians potential targets. Long-range attacks impose the same pressure at national scale, forcing millions of Ukrainians to calculate daily life around sirens, interception rates and the distance to the nearest shelter.

Nevertheless, Ukraine continues to function. Air-defense crews remain at their posts despite dwindling stocks. Emergency workers enter damaged buildings as alarms continue. Railway employees restore services; doctors treat the wounded; families repair windows and return to work. Ukraine’s struggle is no abstraction.

And they still hope that the people who still believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will help them stop drone hunts and ballistic terrorism. Late on Tuesday, July 29, 2026, shortly after the funeral service of the late Senator Lindsay Graham, the US Senate voted by a rare overwhelming majority—86-12—to clear the way for a floor vote on a bill widening sanctions on Russia for its unprovoked war against Ukraine.

The Senate renamed the bill the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026” in honor of Graham, an ardent supporter of Ukraine. The bill enjoyed bipartisan floor support and received President Donald Trump’s blessing, giving cover to some Republican lawmakers who might otherwise have opposed it.

SOURCE: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-ukraine-war-is-still-the-test-of-american-freedom