James C. Van Dongen lives in East Concord.

Two years ago, when Vladimir Putin’s armed forces invaded Ukraine, I bought a Ukrainian flag and hung it from my front porch. It was a small gesture of support for an embattled underdog.

A neighbor asked me if we’re Ukrainian. I said no, my parents were from The Netherlands, but I know the difference between right and wrong. And a powerful country invading a weaker, but sovereign nation is simply wrong. It was wrong when Nazi Germany did it in 1939, starting World War II, and it was wrong when Russia did it in 2014 (Crimea) and 2022 (Ukraine proper).

Of course, things didn’t go according to Putin’s plan. The invading Russian troops were told to pack their dress uniforms to be ready for the inevitable victory parade and the ceremonies “welcoming” them to Ukraine after a brief fight. But that never happened.

The highly motivated Ukrainians fought back. They inflicted heavy casualties on the Russians and significantly degraded their ability to make war. They have been fighting for their country ever since.

Russia has always been an imperialist country. It didn’t matter whether it was led by the Romanovs, the Bolsheviks, or Putin and his merry band of kleptocrats. Russians have always believed that they had the right to conquer and rule their neighbors. And to impose “Russian-ness” on them.

Finland, the Baltic states, the former Soviet bloc nations of Eastern Europe, and other countries have all been ruled by Moscow for long periods of time, a kind of regional colonialism.

For most of the 20th century what we used to call “the captive nations” had their history, culture, and languages suppressed by the Russians. But as soon as their communist governments and the Soviet Union collapsed, most of them declared independence. And most of them joined the West, including obtaining membership in the European Union, NATO, or both.

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Things were a lot simpler in the bipolar world of the Cold War. We were the good guys and we knew who the bad guys were.

Remember Spy versus Spy in Mad magazine? And the Russian spy Boris Badenov in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons: “Double cross my heart and hope you die,” Boris used to say. Putin, like Boris, was a KGB agent.

We no longer live in a bipolar world. “Leader of the free world” might sound a little archaic, but American leadership in economics, diplomacy, and military strength is still needed.

With the possibility of a second Trump administration our European and other allies are being forced to consider future security arrangements without U.S. leadership, or perhaps even without U.S. participation. They are scared to death at the prospect.

Even if Trump is not elected his ignorant attacks on NATO in particular and alliances in general have already damaged policies that have kept the peace in Europe for almost 80 years. Can we afford a world in which the U.S. has the reputation of being an unreliable ally?

We, and our NATO allies, must continue to provide Ukraine with the armaments, supplies, and intelligence it needs to defend itself. Ukraine’s fight is our fight. But as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told European leaders in Munich a few days ago, without Western aid they will lose the war to protect their independence and Ukraine will once again become part of Russia.

After that, which of Russia’s neighbors will be next? Appeasement didn’t work in the 1930s and it won’t work now. My Ukrainian flag stays.

Слава Україні!