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Comment by bioemerl | Hacker News Reader

Because Ukraine is a democratic state/western ally being invaded by it's much bigger and meaner neighbor and will cease to exist if we do not help them defend themselves.

We don't have to give them to Ukraine, but doing so generally furthers our interests.

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Is Ukraine actually a democracy right now? Last I read all of Zelensky's opposition parties were arrested and made illegal. https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/1110577439/zelenskyy-has-cons...

This a misreading. Specific pro-Russian parties were.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_Ukraine

> On 20 March 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a ban on 11 political parties for ties with Russia: Opposition Platform — For Life, Party of Shariy, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Left Opposition, Union of Leftists, Derzhava, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialists Party and Volodymyr Saldo Bloc.

Quite a few other parties remain in Parliament:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_Ukraine#P...

Given history - one such party helped Russia take Crimea in 2014, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Unity - that seems reasonably prudent in the pursuit of still being able to be a proper democracy in the future.

But if the people vote for a party, should they not be allowed to be in power? I mean that is the definition of democracy, right? The people in Donbas, Crimea, etc. voted for many of these claimed pro Russian parties.

No, during a war and martial law, it’s best not to let enemy sympathizers run your government. No one gets free elections if Russia annexes you.

Democracy isn’t a suicide pact; you don’t have to let Hitlers take power in a crisis. Ukrainian law provides for martial law, and their Supreme Court upheld the bans. That’s democracy functioning too.

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