Ron DeSantis’s pandering on Ukraine is dangerously wrong

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is dangerously wrong to say that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is a mere “territorial dispute” and that the United States lacks a vital interest in the outcome. The former Navy lawyer should know better than to peddle appeasement, but he’s pandering to his party’s isolationist wing by mimicking former president Donald Trump ahead of an all-but-declared bid for the GOP’s 2024 nomination.

“Peace should be the objective,” Mr. DeSantis wrote in answers to a questionnaire from Fox News host Tucker Carlson. If Mr. DeSantis’s goal is peace, letting Russia run roughshod will mean less of it. This all but assures more conflict down the road in a more dangerous and unstable world. History leaves little doubt.