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In June 1998, Clinton declared a national emergency under the pretense that the governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia, with respect to Kosovo, were threatening to destabilize countries of the region and to disrupt progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina in implementing the Dayton peace agreement, and therefore constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.

NATO intervened, ended the war and brought an end to most of the immediate suffering.

This poses the question: When does America have a moral obligation to intervene particularly for humanitarian reasons in conflict? And which factors contribute to the choices we make?

America and NATO have a clear geopolitical interest in Ukraine: President Vladimir Putin of Russia cannot be allowed to get away with such unprovoked, naked aggression. What kind of precedent would that set? And whos to say that he would stop there?

But when the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, spoke via video to Congress on Wednesday, part of the appeal he was making was a moral one, an appeal to the American belief in and commitment to the very idea of democracy.

He said:

Peace in your country does not depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you, on those who are strong. Strong does not mean big. Strong is brave and ready to fight for the life of his citizens and citizens of the world. For human rights, for freedom, for the right to live decently and to die when your time comes, not when it is wanted by someone else, by your neighbor. Today the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine, we are fighting for the values of Europe and the world, sacrificing our lives in the name of the future.

The question is how far is America compelled to go. President Biden signed off on $13.6 billion in aid on Tuesday and announced on Wednesday that $800 million in military assistance would be sent to Ukraine as part of that funding. These are not trivial amounts. Furthermore, America and its allies have imposed stiff economic sanctions on Russia. The sanctions could contribute to inflation, which means that Americans may pay even more than what the administration is pledging in direct assistance.

I say that the United States must supply military aid and should supply humanitarian aid. But I also say that we must be more consistent in determining who deserves outpourings of our humanitarian impulses.

Human suffering is human suffering. It has been a constant in the story of mankind. Sometimes it overlaps with our national interests, and sometimes it does not. But our sense of morality must remain constant, and in it we must find a place for equity.

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Opinion | What Is Our Moral Obligation in Ukraine? - The New York Times

An international anti-war zoom meeting on February 26 attended by thousands and organized by CODEPINK, Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the No To NATO network agreed to an international day of anti-war action on Sunday, March 6. We call on everyone who opposes this war to take to the streets on March 6 in a massive display of global opposition to the war and the warmongers.

The war in Ukraine is a disaster for the people of Ukraine and a terrible threat to us all, including increasing the danger of nuclear war. We oppose the Russian invasion and call for the immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops. We recognize that the expansion of NATO and the aggressive approach of Western states have helped cause the crisis and we demand an end to NATO expansion. We also oppose sanctions that will harm ordinary Russians and call on all countries to welcome refugees fleeing the war.

There have already been many anti-war demonstrations in Russia and many other countries. What we need now is a massive, unified response by peace-loving people around the world to say No to War in Ukraine; Yes to Negotiations and Peace.

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About - Peace in Ukraine

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Ukraines economic freedom score is 54.1, making its economy the 130th freest in the 2022 Index. Ukraine is ranked 44th among 45 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is below the regional and world averages.

Five years ago, the Ukrainian economy was gaining strength, but growth slowed in 2019, and the economy contracted in 2020. Growth resumed in 2021. During that half-decade, economic freedom has generally trended upward. Aided by score increases in labor freedom and monetary freedom, Ukraine has recorded an impressive 6.0-point overall gain of economic freedom since 2017 but is still in the middle ranks of the Mostly Unfree countries. Fiscal health is somewhat positive, but investment freedom, financial freedom, and rule of law exhibit weaknesses.

IMPACT OF COVID-19: As of December 1, 2021, 91,860 deaths had been attributed to the pandemic in Ukraine, and the governments response to the crisis ranked 40th among the countries included in this Index in terms of its stringency. The economy contracted by 4.2 percent in 2020.

Long known as the Breadbasket of Europe because of its fertile black soil, Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe north of the Black Sea. In the eight years since the Maidan revolution, Ukraines political landscape has been transformed. Rival businesspolitical networks continue to exercise significant influence, but a generational change is in progress. Actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a political newcomer, won the April 2019 presidential election, and his party won an absolute majority in July 2019 parliamentary elections. Russias illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and destabilization of the eastern Donbas region continue to damage the Ukrainian economy, which relies heavily on the production of wheat and exports of industrial and energy products.

Property rights and secured interests are protected by law, and the recording system is generally reliable, but enforcement is undermined by corrupt courts. In 2021, in an effort to unleash productivity and investment, the government ended a 20-year moratorium on the sale of farmland. The judiciarys susceptibility to political pressure, corruption, and bribery weakens public confidence. Government integrity remains severely compromised.

The top individual income tax rate is 20 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 18 percent. Other taxes include value-added and property taxes. The overall tax burden equals 19.2 percent of total domestic income. Government spending has amounted to 43.0 percent of total output (GDP) over the past three years, and budget deficits have averaged 3.5 percent of GDP. Public debt is equivalent to 60.7 percent of GDP.

Regulatory decisions are characterized by a high degree of arbitrariness and favoritism. A change has been made to speed up the review and issuance of patents. There is a skilled computer software workforce. Most state-owned enterprises rely on government subsidies to function and cannot compete directly with private firms. Subsidies for natural gas were reimplemented in 2021.

Ukraine has 20 preferential trade agreements in force. The trade-weighted average tariff rate is 3.2 percent, and 150 nontariff measures are in effect. Despite progress, lingering bureaucracy deters much-needed growth in private investment. Nonperforming loans continue to be a drag on the banking system. The capital markets lack of development limits financing options.

Excerpt from:
Ukraine Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business ...

Notably, in the mid-14th century, Lithuania began to extend its borders and took over the rule of Ukraine, which proved to be reasonably beneficial for the Ukrainians. However, in 1569 Poland and Lithuania formed a union which disrupted the relative peace that the Ukrainians had been enjoying. The peasants soon found themselves subject to serfdom and persecution was brought upon the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In 1596 the Bishops of the Ukrainian Church, to preserve their own identity and not be assimilated into Polish Catholicism, established the Greek Catholic faith. They acknowledged the authority of the pope, but kept their Orthodox rites.

In the 16th century, the term Ukraine, which is translated as borderland or at the border, came into use. Poland-Lithuania was now struggling against the growing principality of Moscow for control of the area of Ukraine. Many Ukrainians fled beyond the area of the lower Dnieper rapids in order to escape the religious persecution and serfdom that harsh Polish rule had brought upon them. These fugitives established a military order known as Cossacks, or Kozaks, being taken from the Turkic kazak which means adventurer or outlaw. The Cossacks waged a successful revolution against Polish domination in 1648.

Ukraine was unable to stand alone though, and a treaty was concluded with Moscow, acknowledging their superiority, but allowing Ukraine a large measure of independence. Russia did not respect the terms of the treaty however, and treated the Ukrainians with contempt, referring to them as little Russians. Ukraine concluded a treaty with Poland in 1658 which resulted in the Russo-Polish war and the partitioning of Ukraine. Thereafter followed years of domination, treaties and unrest in Ukraine until after the Bolshevik Revolution, when Ukraine declared complete independence in January 1918.

This situation was fairly short-lived though, when after much conflict in the area, Soviet troops gained control of Ukraine, which became one of the republics of the USSR in 1922. This inclusion into the USSR under communist rule resulted in much hardship for the Ukrainians, and so during World War II when Germany invaded Ukraine, many saw them as liberators. However, the Nazis viewed all Slavs with contempt and treated them very harshly during their occupation of Ukraine.

After the devastation of World War II Ukraine still suffered much unrest on their way to independence. In July 1990 a declaration of sovereignty was passed by the Ukrainian parliament, and in August 1991 Ukraine was declared to be independent of the Soviet Union. Leonid Kravchuk became the first president of Ukraine in December 1991.

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History of Ukraine - Ukraine.com

The fundamental basis for the whole Ukrainian culture is folk culture and, on its ground, professional art, literature and science was gradually developed. The true creators and carriers of culture were the large layers of society - peasants, Cossacks, artisans. A great place was occupied by folklore, folk traditions, which added to Ukrainian culture a special charm and coloring.

The peculiarity of Ukrainian culture was also determined by the influence of geographical conditions, historical path, as well as interaction with other ethnic cultures. Since Ukraine is geographically located between Europe and Asia, much of its culture exhibits both Eastern and Western influences. Today, the country is somewhat culturally divided with the western regions bearing a stronger European influence and the eastern regions showing a strong Russian influence.

At the same time, there are negative consequences of such a character of the development of Ukrainian national culture as many talented people who were born and raised in Ukraine, then left and linked their further life and work with other countries cultures.

However, Ukrainian culture may be proud of the original and ancient educational system, which reached its height in the Cossack era, provided almost complete literacy of the population, and a long tradition of book writing. As a result, a series of classic masterpieces in the field of printing, architecture, literature and significant progress in science were made.

Ukrainian culture is richly embedded in ancient traditions. Even today many historical songs such as the dummy and the playing of the kobza which was popular during the 16th century is still enjoyed. Of course, the music has been greatly modernized and somehow westernized, however, it remained many peculiar features. There are also a number of cultural festivals such as Zaxidfest, Trypilski Zori, Fayne Misto etc.

The Ukrainian people also enjoy their culture in the form of traditional dances and dance games. Many of these originated in rural Cossack villages and some of the oldest dances can be traced back to ancient cults. Nowadays, with the help of these dances, people all over the world may get acquainted with the whole Ukrainian culture. The most vivid example is the Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.

Ukrainians celebrate a number of holidays, namely Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, New Years and Ivana Kupala (St Johns Eve). They also hold a festival every autumn to celebrate the end of the harvest. While some of these festivals are celebrated worldwide, Ukrainians have their very own way of observing them. Ukrainian culture is very interesting and there is so much to say on the matter that it cannot be discussed fully here. The best way to find out more is to visit the country and learn from the locals.

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Ukrainian Culture - Ukraine.com