Biden's Delayed Response to Ukraine's Plea for Assistance Prolonged War

Strategic Insights -

In the two weeks after his anointed successor lost the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Joe Biden finally authorized Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia. This move was a belated response to President Volodymyr Zelensky's repeated requests for more powerful and effective U.S. weapons to defend his country. The delay in providing Ukraine with necessary support allowed Russia to gain more territory and resulted in the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers.

Key Takeaways:

  • Joe Biden took three years to authorize the use of American long-range missiles in Ukraine, which was too late to change the course of the war.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been requesting more powerful and effective U.S. weapons since Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
  • The delay in providing Ukraine with necessary support led to Russia gaining more territory and the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers.
  • Critics of Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine have forgotten that Joe Biden's unwillingness to act decisively prolonged the war.
  • Proponents of unlimited U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine insist that only a sustained military onslaught can force President Putin to retreat.
  • Ukraine is running out of troops to fight the war, with thousands of valiant soldiers having been on the battlefield since 2022.
  • A negotiated settlement is the best alternative to continuing the war, with security guarantees for Ukraine being a crucial aspect of the deal.

Statistics:

  • Estimated 1.4 million casualties and hundreds of thousands of deaths (on both sides) and counting from the war in Ukraine.
  • Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been on the battlefield since 2022, with some having been there since fighting broke out in Donbas in 2011.
  • Ukraine has enacted a draft of all men between the ages of 25 and 60 and even allows those older than 60 to enlist voluntarily.
  • Russia has its own recruitment problems, but unlike Ukraine, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, does not care about the number of soldiers who die or are maimed for life.

Sources:

  • KONRAD YAKABUSKI, "Byline: Biden's Delayed Response to Ukraine's Plea for Assistance Prolonged War"