Americans helping Ukraine’s war effort say the US hasn’t done enough

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Every time American philanthropist Amed Khan returns to Ukraine, he begins by offering condolences to those who have died in the war since his last trip. Over the past two and a half years, his group has provided more than $50 million in aid to civilians and soldiers fighting to survive the Russian invasion.

Some of them are already dead.

For Khan, a US government official turned philanthropist, those he supports are like family. He travels to meet them on the front lines and in war-torn cities. His close relationship with those who endured the war also exposes him to the pain and loss they experience firsthand.

“When you deal directly with people, you feel the pain of war,” he says shortly after meeting a father who survived a bombing that killed his son.

Khan and many other Americans across the U.S. political spectrum who support Ukraine’s war effort, either through financial aid or voluntary fighting, say the U.S. — Ukraine’s most important ally — has not done enough to help Ukraine defeat Russia. They doubt whether Tuesday’s American elections will change that.

“Since the beginning of the war, the United States has been able to rally its allies to support Ukraine, but not in the way it should have,” said Khan, who campaigned for then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992. “So my belief is that it is not their strategy that Ukraine necessarily wins and Russia loses.”

He spoke to The Associated Press this weekend in the eastern Kharkiv region, one of several stops on his planned route — all located along the front line.

The US has provided more than $59.5 billion in military aid since Russia invaded in 2022, yet many say Kiev’s potential is often hampered by US policies. Ukrainian officials say promised weapons often arrive late.

Zelensky’s requests for an invitation to join NATO and permission to use Western-donated weapons to invade deeper into Russia have been met with caution by President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration amid fears of escalation with a nuclear-armed Russia.

Biden’s vice president, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, is likely to pursue a similar policy, while former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, has repeatedly questioned U.S. aid to Ukraine and could seek to further limit military aid , although he has also cited an undetailed plan to end the war quickly.

Meanwhile, Russia has managed to strengthen its alliances with Iran and North Korea, with the latter reportedly sending troops to support Russia’s fight.

“If the war escalates, we’re in it… and we’re not even offering Ukraine enough to win,” said another American philanthropist, Howard G. Buffett, during a recent visit to Ukraine, his 16th since the war broke out. war. “And we’ve never had a strategy on how we’re going to beat Russia,” Buffett said.

Buffett, a Republican and son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, focuses on humanitarian needs such as infrastructure, agriculture and demining, and his foundation has contributed about $800 million to Ukraine.

“If Ukraine is not successful, the rest of the democratic world will pay a high price,” Buffett told AP. “And the fact that we don’t all collectively understand that, see it, and act on it will be the biggest mistake of anything that will ever happen in my lifetime.”

Driven by the same belief, an American volunteer flew to Poland in August to enlist in Ukraine’s International Legion after thinking about the choice for about a year.

“I feel like the decision was more difficult than it should have been,” said the 35-year-old fighter, who asked to be identified by the call sign Smoky in accordance with Ukrainian military protocol. A former accountant with no military experience, he now serves in one of the Ukrainian units in the eastern Kharkov region.

Smoky, a father of two young daughters, says the impact of the Russian invasion on Ukrainian families “weighed heavily on him.”

As the US election campaign continues at home, Smoky says he’s glad to be “away from all that drama.” Instead, he focuses on preparing for his first mission as an infantryman.

“We are tying Ukraine’s hands with restrictions on the use of specific weapons,” he argues. “It feels like we’re just prolonging the war.”

Another 25-year-old volunteer fighter from Texas, who goes by the nickname Dima, began a three-month commitment to fight in Ukraine in 2022, which has since grown into a year-long commitment.

A former Marine, he saw some of the fiercest battles of the war, including the longest at Bakhmut, after which he took his only break. When he flew back to meet his family and friends back home, no one could remember his experiences.

Moreover, “the U.S. is dealing with so many problems of its own right now,” he said.

“So they now feel less inclined to send more of our tax dollars here, which I understand,” he said. “But as an individual who has been here since the beginning of the war, I see that it is absolutely necessary.”

Khan, who now manages about 300 ongoing projects in Ukraine, urged his fellow American citizens to focus on the lives devastated by the conflict in Ukraine, stressing that the outcome of the war could significantly affect global security to influence.

Khan said he hopes the winner of the US presidential election will “really, really spend more time understanding what is happening here. I would urge anyone who wins to do that and then try to find a new way forward to end this war.”

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Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed to this story.