Russia’s ongoing rhetoric and military aggression make it clear that its aim is not peace, but domination and destruction. President Vladimir Putin and his regime are not merely opposed to NATO‘s expansion—they are actively pursuing the elimination of Ukrainian sovereignty and identity. In a televised address in February 2022, Putin questioned Ukraine’s legitimacy as an independent nation. In September 2022, Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. During a ceremony at the Kremlin, he declared that the residents of these regions were now Russian citizens “forever,” emphasizing that their choice to join Russia was irreversible.
In his book, On Tyranny, professor Timothy Snyder accurately said, “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.”
One way to shift the tide is to squeeze the wallet. This is what Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) proposed with their Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (S.1241), introduced in April. The bill would impose severe economic penalties on Russia and countries that continue to support its energy exports. Over 80 senators have voiced support for the bill, reflecting a strong bipartisan consensus. In addition to economic sanctions, Senators Graham and Blumenthal have introduced legislation to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that would further isolate Russia diplomatically and economically.
This is the common sense approach to the war against Ukraine, but so far, the sanctions package against Russia has been shut down at the highest level. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said that sanctions risk pushing Russia away from peace talks. What peace talks? Russia has yet to demonstrate in any significant way that it is actually interested in peace. Every time the various delegations have met to discuss “peace,” Russia makes wild demands and simply gains more time to murder Ukrainian citizens—including many children.
In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed an unconditional ceasefire with Russia, aiming to halt hostilities until a direct meeting between the two leaders could be arranged. He expressed Ukraine’s readiness to meet “any day” in locations such as Istanbul, Switzerland, or the Vatican. This proposal followed earlier efforts, including a call in May 2025. Russia did not accept the offer. Despite these initiatives, Russia consistently rejects Ukraine’s proposals for an unconditional ceasefire, instead offering limited, short-term truces in specific areas.
Ukrainians are a resilient and creative people. They stopped Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022 and even reclaimed some of the captured territory with a surprise counter offensive in 2023. Ukraine has transformed the landscape of modern warfare in several significant ways, offering lessons not just in military tactics but also in societal resilience, digital innovation, and global alliances. The most recent example of this was Operation Spiderweb. The groundbreaking Ukrainian military operation targeted strategic air bases deep within Russian territory. This was a transformative moment in modern warfare and it will be studied for years to come.
The reason that Senators Graham and Blumenthal must get their legislation through Congress is because people will continue to needlessly die unless Russia is stopped. Russia will not stop unless they run out of troops (unlikely), ammunition (also unlikely), or money (the most likely possibility). When everyone in Russia feels the collective cost and pain of this war, there may be enough pressure to topple President Putin or force him to change his approach.
In the 2012 movie, The Hobbit, Gandalf, a protagonist wizard declared, “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” Few of us have the power to end a war, but God created all of us with the ability to display our love through action.
Evil thrives when good people stay passive or silent. The world does not need more spectators: we need advocates, bridge-builders, and truth-tellers. The sanctions legislation proposed by Senators Graham and Blumenthal is not just policy; it’s a declaration that the world still values truth over terror, sovereignty over tyranny.
Now is the time for ordinary people to take extraordinary action. Write to your senators. Share verified information. Stand with the oppressed. Support your local refugee communities. Because when we refuse to look away—and choose to act—we become the resistance to evil, and the messengers of human dignity.
Andrew Moroz, PhD, is a Ukrainian American pastor and the founder of The Renewal Initiative.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
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