Dear Editor:
Maria Proskurenko’s February 4 letter to the editor commenting on Jaroslaw Martyniuk’s January 29 letter entirely missed the point that Mr. Martyniuk was making. The thrust of his letter was whether President Joe Biden would be able to prevent the fourth betrayal of Ukraine by exerting all possible pressure on Germany to stop NordStream 2.
She ignored this most salient issue. Instead, she obfuscated by resurrecting defunct topics about Paul Manafort, Marie Yovanovich and President Donald Trump’s calls with Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which had nothing to do with the critical point Mr. Martyniuk raised. Ms. Proskurenko frantically attempted to deflect from Mr. Martyniuk’s assertions that Western powers have collectively betrayed Ukraine on the “big” issues, i.e., Budapest Memorandum, delivery of lethal weapons, and Crimea.
The issues Ms. Proskurenko raised appear pedantic when placed against Mr. Trump’s actions on behalf of Ukraine: arming Ukrainian infantry with Javelins, delivering advanced missile-equipped patrol boats, persuading NATO to accept its share of responsibilities, approving Patriot missiles to Poland, countering Russian aggression by deploying Stryker brigades in the Black Sea region, moves that greatly benefited Ukraine, and I might add the previous administration failed to support for fear of provoking Russia.
With only 100 kilometers to go, time on the pipeline is running out, and the central question remains: Will Mr. Biden permit Russia and Germany to complete NordStream 2? If they allow it to be completed, it will be the equivalent of throwing Ukraine under the bus. It would be more helpful if Ms. Proskurenko focused her energies on addressing this crucial question.
Sterling Heights, Mich.