Ukraine is still “experiencing invadedness,” as our progressive wordsmiths -- they gave us ‘experiencing homelessness’ for vagrants and ‘involved in the justice system’ for thieves, etc. -- would say.

Leaving aside for the moment the reasons for and impacts of Russia’s invasion (the reason is that Putin wanted to do it and thought Joe Biden would be a pushover, forgetting the, um, family ties to the nation that could be revealed if Putin won) the war, unlike the Israel-Hamas war for some reason, has been a cause célèbre of the Left.

This is because it was Putin who did it and Putin is evil and Putin got Trump elected and Putin gave Trump hookers and Putin loves Trump and Trump loves Putin and Trump wants to be Putin and Trump wants to rule the world as dictators and blah blah blah.

But ask yourself:  would the progressive world be so rabidly pro-Ukraine -- pro-Ukraine to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars -- if it had not been Putin who invaded?

What if a coalition of Ukraine’s neighbors -– Poland, Belarus, Moldova (Transnistria) Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania -- had invaded instead?

In this scenario, do leftists still fly blue and yellow flags in front of their house, put blue and yellow markers on their social media accounts, donate to Ukrainian charities, and continue to push for more and more U.S. aid for the beleaguered but plucky nation?

No, they do not.  There would be nowhere near the level of intensity and commitment demanded and emotion in the discussion.

The support of Ukraine is not about Ukraine, it’s about Putin and, therefore, because they colluded to win the 2016 election, about Trump, too.

And therefore Ukraine must be supported.

This is not to support the invasion: Putin is a power-mad nutjob with nukes and that is not at all a good thing.  The invasion was wrong and Putin’s decision has cost thousands of lives.  And our allies nearby (Poland, etc.) must be protected, so support for Ukraine is not an inherently bad thing. And it is in the national interest and it is the ethical thing to do.

But the emotional attachment of those who are running the show (save the neocons who want the United States permanently at war with someone or other) is not based on wanting to help Ukraine -- it’s based on wanting to stop Putin and harm Trump.

No matter how much money is spent and no matter how many Ukrainians die.

Image: Bärbel Miemietz