Sens. Marshall and Moran, Kansas needs you to tell Trump no on Russia | Opinion

An open letter to Kansas Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran:

Please speak out. Speak out to your colleagues, to the press and to President Donald Trump. He is on the wrong side of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Here are the facts — not opinions, but instead the truth: Russia invaded Ukraine. The International Criminal Court has declared Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Russia’s allies are Iran, China and North Korea — all enemies of the United States, all autocracies. Ukraine’s allies are the European Union, Great Britain and the United States — all democracies.

Yet Trump treats Putin as a friend, as an ally. I got physically ill when I saw U.S. servicemen, on their knees, rolling out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska earlier this week.

Now I hear our president will support Russia’s position and will most likely ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make concessions to Russia — give up land and any future efforts to join NATO. Before Trump met with Putin, he said he would demand an immediate ceasefire and if Putin didn’t agree, there would be consequences.

No. We must make it clear that we view Russia as morally wrong in this war, and when a country is morally on the wrong side of a war it started, it forfeits the right to ask for anything, in my opinion. The free world ought to demand that Russia get out of Ukraine, including Crimea, return the thousands of children they kidnapped, and make reparations to the people and government of Ukraine for the death and damage they have caused.

And if they don’t, the free world should increase support to Ukraine and impose crippling economic sanctions on Russia. We must provide its military with more weapon systems and allow it to use them against targets inside Russia. We should provide Ukraine with actionable intelligence. We should use our technological advantage to communicate to the Russian people what is really happening to their sons in a war that is being fought based on lies.

And if this doesn’t achieve results quickly, we must use our own military power to knock Russia into next week and out of Ukraine.

Sens. Marshall and Moran, stand up for Kansas’ values of democracy and truth. Do not let President Trump take sides with Russia over Ukraine. Do not let him demand that President Zelenskyy make concessions. Come on. Do the right thing.

Mike Souder is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, manufacturing manager and educator. He lives in Prairie Village.