On Jan. 22, the U.S. sent military aid to Ukraine. This was a warning to Russia that the U.S. plans to become fully involved in military conflict should it decided to invade Ukraine. Despite this bold action, Russia has no intention of backing away, as Russian President Vladmir Putin has yet to remove his 120,000 troops stationed along the Ukrainian border. The ineffective U.S. response to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is a display of weakness from the Biden administration, laying bare its inability to deter Putin from invading Ukraine.
The picture being painted about the Russian-Ukrainian situation by the U.S. government is that Putin wants to retake Ukraine and restore the former Soviet Union. The U.S. is pushing this story to gain favor from the public in case a war erupts.
During the meeting held between western and Russian diplomats in Geneva on Jan. 21, Russia claimed to not want to take back control of Ukraine. Russia expressed that its reason for approaching the Ukrainian border was deterrence to prevent Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Essentially, Putin is aiming to keep western influence from seeping into Russia. If Ukraine were to join NATO, it is a message to the Russian people that political freedom can be available to them. Putin wants to maintain political power in Russia; therefore, he needs to keep western influence out of the sight of his people, and thus out of Ukraine.
Despite the U.S. providing Ukraine with military aid and threatening to place sanctions on Russia, Putin seems to have no interest in backing down. Biden is too weak of a president with no military mindset. He is not the man for the job and the public can see that. The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 showed Biden’s lack of commitment to countries in desire of freedom. The Afghanistan withdrawal was a disaster, not only for the U.S. troops but also for NATO allies. The situation in Ukraine needs to play out differently. The world, especially Putin, needs to witness a leader who means business and can challenge tyranny.
Putin knows that NATO is not concerned with Ukraine’s freedom. NATO is concerned with being a larger competitor to Russia’s influence in Eastern Europe, and this is what empowers Putin to stay put on the Ukrainian border. This situation is not about Ukraine, it is about western versus Russian domination.
Another Cold War is brewing, but the outcome will be different considering the lack of strength held by our current Western leaders and the lack of interest from the people.