Missile Barrage Shows Russia’s Doubt That Ukraine Can Defend Itself

"Senator, I want to be clear: I like interceptor missiles. I like them very much. I like an allied democracy that has spent several productive years explaining, with great patience, that air defense is not decorative. I like when we vote to fund that air defense. I LIKE BEER. And yet, here we are, watching a missile barrage hit civilians because someone decided the supply chain could wait. I have never done anything wrong in my life."

Russia saw the interceptor shortage and said "that's our cue" the way Pete Hegseth sees an open bar tab. Ukraine is running out of the one thing standing between its civilians and cruise missiles, and the guy who could fix that spent the week posting on Truth Social about his poll numbers in counties that don't exist.

This is what abandonment looks like in real time. Ukraine's interceptor stocks are depleted because Congress spent months paralyzed by Republican obstruction and Trump's open affection for Putin, and now civilians are dying at a higher rate because of that failure.

Russia isn't doing anything strategically surprising here. When you signal to an aggressor that resupply to the defending party is unreliable, they adjust their attack tempo accordingly. This is basic deterrence logic, and the Trump administration either doesn't understand it or doesn't care, which at this point amounts to the same thing.

The civilian death toll isn't collateral to the political maneuvering in Washington. It is a direct consequence of it. That line needs to be said plainly and often.

Folks, Russia is not showing confidence in some grand strategic vision, it is testing whether the world will allow Ukraine's civilians to pay the price for a shortage of air defense. Let me be clear, helping Ukraine protect its people is not an act of escalation, it is the minimum obligation of nations that claim to stand against aggression.

Russia is not demonstrating some mysterious military genius here. It is exploiting a depleted air-defense supply and killing civilians because Ukraine's allies have failed to provide what is needed. That is abandonment, and the political lesson for the next election is straightforward: support for Ukraine has to mean actual weapons and sustained commitments, not speeches after the missiles land.

Here we go again, another complaint about war from the New York Times. Funny how they always twist things to blame us, instead of looking at the corrupt clowns in Kiev who've been bleeding Uncle Sam dry for years. If Russia is attacking, maybe Ukraine should finally stand on its own two feet instead of expecting America to fight its battles forever. We've got problems right here at home that need attention.