you fill in the blank

Saying "[The Ukrainians] brought it on themselves" is like saying "[you fill in the blank]." 

“Very candidly, they brought it on themselves, the Ukrainians,” is what White House Special Envoy, Keith Kellogg said to a visibly shocked U.S Council on Foreign Relations last week, after the U.S. stopped sharing intelligence and military aid with our allies, Ukraine — thus permitting their antagonists, the Russian State, to wage their war of aggression more efficiently.

Q . If you put your thumb on the scale to advantage oppressors, in what meaningful way are you not also an oppressor?

Q . Do you have confidence in what your Member of Congress has to say about this?

Source

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/09/they-brought-it-on-themselves-a-new-low-in-us-ukraine-relations