Opinion | We Must Stand by Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin of Russia appalled the world with his full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago.He planned to topple Ukraine’s democratically elected government, install a Kremlin puppet regime and expose the West as weak, divided and diminished.After more than 1,000 days of Mr.

Putin’s reckless war of choice, he has failed to achieve a single one of his strategic goals.Russia’s power and influence are greatly diminished; it couldn’t even prop up a valued client like the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Meanwhile, Ukraine stands strong and defiant as a free and sovereign democracy, with an economy rooted in the West.All this is a testament to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops and the strength of Ukraine’s people.It is also the product of steadfast American leadership, which has rallied allies and partners worldwide to help Ukraine survive the Kremlin’s imperial onslaught.

The United States should build on this historic success, not squander it.Mr.Putin assumed that the world would stand by when he sent his troops across the Ukrainian border.

He was wrong.The United States has rallied some 50 countries from around the planet to help Ukraine defend itself — and to uphold the bedrock principle that borders may not be redrawn by force.

One of us, Secretary Austin, has convened the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a global coalition that has coordinated military support to Ukraine, 25 times.Its members have committed $126 billion in direct security assistance to Ukraine, almost half of which has come from non-U.S.

members.As a percentage of G.D.P., more than a dozen contact group members now provide more security assistance to Ukraine than the United States does.And these investments in Ukraine are delivering returns here at home, boosting our defense industrial base and creating good jobs.

Mr.Putin’s aggression even spurred the very outcome he had sought to prevent: NATO is now bigger, stronger and more united than ever.A...