The Russia-Ukraine war has been one of the most covered stories worldwide over the past year. Having invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the one-year mark of Russian forces moving deeper into Ukraine’s land has recently passed, bringing up the cause for concern regarding Ukraine and its people.

The United States government has sent Ukraine weapons, missiles, ammunition, and defense systems totaling $47 million to protect their country against Russian soldiers. However, at this point, the United States should restrain from sending additional resources, soldiers, and support.

While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) released a statement at the war’s height condemning Russia’s action as their invasion “undermines international security and stability, and is a blatant violation of international law,” the risk of terminating the United States-Russia international relationship would be detrimental to people across the globe. While it has always been shaky, unclear, and tension-filled, the U.S. cannot let this relationship fade at the risk of terminating their far-too-valuable relationship.

Over the past several decades, the U.S. and Russia have maintained a critical relationship based on the balance of power and shared objectives. Nuclear warfare, the elimination of terrorism, space exploration, and climate change are all examples of tasks that the two countries have worked together to fix or achieve. By showing full support for Ukraine, while the humanitarian thing to do, the U.S. dismantles the years of correspondence with the mighty, threatening, and combative nation of Russia.

While the U.S. has the full ability to assist Ukraine–a country they have also worked with in the past–it is simply not the most strategic move to put more resources and soldiers behind Russian lines. Being the world’s most influential nation, the U.S. must take a step back, providing cautious assistance to Ukraine and refraining from interfering with the threatening Vladimir Putin.

It remains a solid strategy to observe the Russia-Ukraine war from a distance, as the U.S. can still make its impact felt without damaging decades worth of relationships and global communication. Using NATO as a resource, the U.S. should continue to combat the issue by working with both sides. Taking the Russian side would cause outrage amidst their undeniable human-rights violations, but taking the Ukrainian side puts the future of the U.S.–and the world–in jeopardy.

No matter how harmful the actions of Vladimir Putin and the Russian military are, the U.S. cannot afford to burn that bridge. While the Russians will always and forever be seen on the wrong side of this war, far too many things could go wrong with America’s full support, resources, money, and military strength facing the aggressive Russian government.

Being filled with heart-wrenching stories from Ukrainians, it is important to take to social media and discuss the U.S. and their critical relationship with Russia. It may not be the humanitarian thing to do, but this relationship will steady the hand of international relations around the world, and its importance should be shared just as frequently.