Dear Editor:

Please don't get too hopeful about joining NATO, because NATO will do for Ukraine about as much good as it did for Georgia whether Ukraine joins it or not. If Ukraine doesn't get serious about supporting its army, Russia will either annex some of our territory, really really really make us pay for our gas, or simply Finlandize us. NATO, especially under President Barack Obama, will not lift a finger to stop anything Russia does in Ukraine.


Now, you may think that we can't do anything about Russia anyhow--after all, their population is three times ours and it has nuclear weapons. But even Russia would fear the results if it used a

nuclear weapon in an aggressive war. The point of having an army is to bog down the Russian army long enough for China to grab part of Siberia, which it would love to do. The reply to [the traditional greeting] “Slava Ukrayini” [Glory to Ukraine] shouldn't be “Slava Naviky” [Glory forever]. It should be "Then triple the military budget."


Roger Kovaciny,

Ternopil