The war in Ukraine is escalating dangerously while Congress is asleep at the wheel, with few realistic tools to stop the Biden administration’s escalation in the short term.
At the beginning of November, President Joe Biden authorized American contractors to deploy to Ukraine to maintain and repair U.S.-made weapons systems, a move which could put American lives at risk. Shortly thereafter, Ukraine fired U.S.-made ATACMS missiles into Russia for the first time after Biden lifted a ban on Ukraine striking targets within Russia. Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, argued that “without the Americans, it is impossible to use these high-tech missiles” and that the attacks are “a signal” that the West wants to escalate the conflict.
Two days after Biden released restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to strike within Russia, the Russian government finalized an anticipated change to their nuclear doctrine by lowering the standard for using nuclear weapons. It now states that an attack from a non-nuclear country, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint attack on Russia. Russia appears to be sending a message that the United States’ support of Ukraine risks nuclear war with Russia.
This dangerous situation in Ukraine demonstrates the need for war powers reform. What if Russia retaliates against Ukraine for striking targets within Russia and accidentally, or intentionally, kills an American contractor? Certainly the administration would face intense political pressure to respond.
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