Ukraine wins over the world

Watching the developments in Ukraine has been both a struggle and an inspiration. Needless to say, it has been acutely painful to watch the biggest attack on a European state since World War II unfold, forcing thousands of Ukrainians to flee their homes or shelter in place, as Russian missiles wreck their cities and destroy innocent lives. This didn't just happen. It's the endgame of a sinister autocrat who has systematically undermined democracy and helped divide, and hence weaken, the world—including here in the U.S., with some help from all-too-willing Americans. On the other hand, the Ukrainians, under their lionhearted leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, have demonstrated fierce resolve in holding their own against an enemy that, on paper, they have no chance to defeat. Sounds a little bit like a certain group of colonies facing down an empire a couple centuries ago. The Ukrainians didn’t choose this war, but as they fight for their own nation to live free from oppression, they stand courageously on the front lines of the global battle between democracy and autocracy. Their determination has rekindled a fire in cynical hearts the world over—we will not let our democracy be taken away. Vladimir Putin may have gotten far more than he bargained for. Likeminded tyrants around the globe should take note. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

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‘We are all Ukraine’

As the assault on Ukraine continues, antiwar protests have grown in cities across Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, himself a Russian speaker from eastern Ukraine, has appealed directly to the Russian people, urging them to protest Vladimir Putin’s war against his country. Zelensky has repeatedly acknowledged the importance of Russian domestic pressure in securing peace. Russia being Russia, police there have cracked down on the local demonstrations, arresting more than 6,000 protesters, and the government has moved to restrict what citizens can see about the events in Ukraine. —The Washington Post

• Join the fight. Zelensky also has issued a call to foreign nationals who are “friends of peace and democracy” to travel to the country to help fight off the Russians. “This is the beginning of a war against Europe, against European structures, against democracy, against basic human rights, against a global order of law, rules, and peaceful coexistence,” he said in a statement. “Anyone who wants to join the defense of Ukraine, Europe, and the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals.” The Ukrainian armed forces are setting up a foreign legion unit for international volunteers. —The Guardian

• Don’t get too confident. Ukraine has stood strong against the Russian offensive, and a senior Defense official said that the U.S. has seen Russian military columns literally run out of gas, and in some places, run out of food, and that morale is suffering as a result. But the official added that the Russians still have a significant amount of combat power that has not yet been tapped, and “they will regroup, they will adjust, they will change their tactics.” Most worrisome, the Russian military is holding drills with nuclear subs and land missiles, after Putin put the country’s nuclear forces on high alert. —Associated Press

• An economic nightmare. Russia is scrambling to prevent a financial meltdown amid Western sanctions and the cutting of key Russian banks out of the SWIFT financial messaging system. Meanwhile, U.S. tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are responding to the invasion by taking measures to stop the spread of Russian disinformation and demonetizing ads that run on Russian state media accounts. The world waits on edge to see what the cornered Putin’s next move will be… —CNBC

MORE: Russia orders mercenaries in Kyiv to assassinate Zelensky: Report —Insider

Collinson: Democracy’s unlikely hero

“Five days into Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his courageous nation have already done more to transform the West’s policy toward Russia than 30 years of post-Cold War summits, policy resets, and showdowns with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian leader’s defiance has inspired and shamed the United States and the European Union into going far further—and far faster—in turning Russia into a pariah state than it appeared they were ready to go.” —Stephen Collinson on CNN

Stephen Collinson is a CNN political analyst.

MORE: Zelensky urges Biden to send strong message on Russia and says: “I’m not iconic. Ukraine is iconic” —CNN

Bunch: Democracy or autocracy? Time to choose

“Today, some of the silliness of our cultural wars over the fake banning of hamburgers or the ‘canceling of Dr. Seuss’ is melting away as an honest-to-goodness war demands that people pick a side. Do you support the messiness of democracy as embodied, however imperfectly, by Ukraine and its courageous people, or will some folks continue to support the decadence embodied by weak ‘strongmen’ like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Donald Trump, whose last resort in defending ancient systems of repression is the barrel of a tank?” —Will Bunch in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Will Bunch is the national columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

MORE: Jennifer Rubin: Freedom House explains the stakes for democracy —The Washington Post

Focus on the pro-Putin right

Shamefully, not everyone is on the side of Ukraine and democracy. Over the weekend, the America First Political Action Conference was convened in Florida by notorious white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who doesn’t shy away from explicitly racist and anti-Semitic themes. As he spoke to the crowd, composed predominantly of white men, he said, “Can we get a round of applause for Russia?” The audience cheerfully complied and launched into chants of “Putin! Putin!” Like others on the far-right, Fuentes has praised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On the social media platform Telegram, he called it “the coolest thing to happen since Jan. 6.” —The Washington Post

• “Anybody that would sit down with white nationalists and speak at their conference was certainly missing a few IQ points.” That would include Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, who were both in attendance at the conference. Speaking of the two congresspeople’s presence there, fellow Republican Mitt Romney said, “I’m reminded of that old line from the ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ movie, where one character says: ‘Morons. I’ve got morons on my team.’” Indeed. —Insider

• For a change, it’s not just Romney. Surprisingly, the two have received criticism from Republicans across the board, including House and Senate Minority Leaders Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell. Even Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, distanced herself from them. Whether the RNC—which saw fit to censure Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger merely for participating on the House select committee investigating Jan. 6–takes punitive action against them, however, is another matter. Don’t hold your breath. —Politico

• Speaking of Cheney and Kinzinger… In stark contrast to Greene and Gosar, Cheney and Kinzinger spoke at the two-day “Principles First” conference in downtown Washington, D.C., over the weekend. Unlike the America First conference or the slightly more respectable Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that took place nearby, Principles First drew “disgruntled Republicans and independents frustrated with CPAC who believe in reality, the Constitution, and the rule of law,” according to organizer Heath Mayo. “CPAC is an embodiment of the intellectual degradation of the party,” Heath said, adding that the two groups that gathered in Orlando have too much in common. Amen. —The Washington Post

MORE: Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin accuses Fox pundits of Putin ‘appeasement’ and ‘extremely dangerous talk’ —The Washington Post

Eisenhauer: Election reform is the answer to countering extremism 

“After an election season heavy on mudslinging and extremist rhetoric—with little insight on policy—you and I often end up in the voting booth choosing between the lesser of two evils. Any third-party candidate is seen as a ‘spoiler’ and a wasted vote. We sigh and cast our vote for a candidate who has had to bend toward extremism to be competitive, and we worry our choice might not align with our values and views. Then we wonder why we don’t have better choices, and we hope things get better in the future. Things can get better. There are better ways to run our elections and to choose our representatives.” —Clint Eisenhauer in The Post and Courier

Clint Eisenhauer was head of government affairs for Maersk Shipping in Washington and senior vice president of external affairs for the South Carolina State Ports Authority.

MORE: How Mississippi is working to reform its broken ballot initiative process —WLOX

Stier & Freedman: Restoring faith in democracy

“There is no doubt that regaining trust is a long-term endeavor that will require across-the-board improvements not only in how government serves its people, but how it listens, communicates, and effectively deals with big issues of consequence as well as everyday matters. This is a tall order often complicated by political discord and major disruptions like the pandemic and foreign policy crises. But the bottom line is that a healthy democracy requires our government to be effective and also requires it to be worthy of trust and be trusted. Biden should make that clear in his State of the Union address and in his actions in the years ahead.” —Max Stier & Tom Freedman in Politico

Max Stier has worked in all three branches of the federal government and is the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. Tom Freedman is a former senior White House advisor during the Clinton Administration and the president of Freedman Consulting.

MORE: Malachi Barrett & Emily Lawler: Americans don’t trust each other. Democracy hangs in the balance —Michigan Live

Here’s a crazy theory for you. Next summer, after months of war in Ukraine, Putin agrees to “peace talks”—but only with Trump and behind closed doors, where Putin agrees to a truce. The feckless Trump emerges, bragging that he brokered the deal. His cult goes nuts. The MAGA-Republicans sweep in the 2022 elections and start clearing the way for Trump’s return to power. And Putin gets what he wants: his guy back in the White House. —Tim P., New Mexico

Maybe it's time for NATO to do live-fire exercises in Latvia and Estonia while at the same time holding joint naval exercises in the Baltic and Eastern Mediterranean. —Dave M., Colorado

To Cary J., Colorado: I’m in complete agreement. Maybe the meeting this past weekend in D.C. will plant a seed. It is time for change in the status quo. By the way, looking at the history of the GOP, the real RINOs are the MAGA folks and their inglorious leader. —Steven B., Florida

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff, the Renew America Movement, or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.