As an American living in Kyiv, I am proud of how much we have helped Ukraine, and I am worried that we may be letting it down.

If you speak English on the street in Ukraine, it’s not uncommon for strangers to stop you and ask where you’re from. Many times when I’ve said I’m American, people (from teenagers to the elderly) have thanked me for helping my country.

I am eternally grateful to be a U.S. citizen and proud to come from the same place as the incredible American soldiers, medics, journalists, and humanities scholars I have the honor of working with. I go to bed every night knowing that I will wake up in the morning because the skies over Kyiv are protected by U.S.-supplied air defenses. In the 11 months since returning to Ukraine, I have developed a new appreciation for both the life-saving power of American assets and our cultural commitment to justice and freedom.

But one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to learn is how well our politicians can weaponize our fatigue into apathy at best and conspiracy at worst. I remember learning about Hitler in school and how we all swore that if we had been alive in the 1940s, we would have been the ones to recognize evil and work to stop it. And yet, there’s a dictator in Europe who’s committing genocide with the goal of expanding his country’s borders indefinitely, and our leading presidential candidate has indicated that his strategy for stopping that is to give Vladimir Putin what he wants.

Putin has said he would end the war if Moscow is allowed to annex four Ukrainian regions (states) – a demand that is particularly shocking given that few of these areas are fully occupied.

It would be as if Cuba took over Key West, mass murdered and raped Floridians, razed every city to Tampa, and our solution was to give up the entire state. If Russia stopped attacking Ukraine, the war would end. If Ukraine stopped defending itself, it would cease to exist, and the world as we knew it would cease to exist.

I am not here to tell you what or who to vote for this fall—I am not you, and I know both options are troubling in and of themselves. All I ask is that you believe me when I say that the greatest threat to America’s security, freedom, and future is Russia. The only thing that protects us is Ukraine, the only thing that will enable Ukraine to win is military aid, and Ukraine is in no way taking that for granted.

When you vote, know that your taxes don’t go to President Volodymyr Zelensky—they go to American manufacturers who make ammunition for the weapons owned by Ukrainian husbands, brothers, and sons who don’t want to die in this war. If Donald Trump signs a waiver from Ukraine, tens of thousands will die for nothing, and thousands more will follow—and not just in Ukraine.

I am not exaggerating or being pessimistic. As someone who has been covering events in Russia and Ukraine for years, I am now more worried about the future than ever.

If you’re reading this from America, I hope you never hear the sound of an air raid siren. I hope the people you love are never drafted into military service without an end date. I hope you never learn what the human brain can get used to, to the point where a neighborhood hit by a shell at 8am is forgotten by noon. I hope you never let a billionaire convince you that you don’t have to worry about a giant black cloud heading straight for you.

Happy 4th day. I love America and I know we can do what is right. My greatest fear is that we simply won’t, and the consequences will haunt us for generations.