
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Following his well-established policy of too little/too late, President Biden issued 500 sanctions on Russian entities and individuals. ; That brings his total sanctions to approximately 17,000. ; The latest round was not because of the invasion of Ukraine, but for the death (murder) of Russian dissident leader Alexei Navalny.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Biden specifically told Putin that if Navalny were to die in prison, the actions taken by the United States and other Western nations would be “devastating.” ; Once again, Biden’s tough rhetoric has not been fulfilled by his actions.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">You may recall that Biden promised to hit Putin with every sanction possible at the onset of the invasion – and they would be devastating. ; Based on the periodic imposition of new sanctions, we can safely say that Biden was lying in the beginning – and now there were even more sanctions on the shelf to be imposed.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to the experts, the impact of these new sanctions will not be felt for a month or even years – if at all. ; That has been the history of all those 16,000-plus previous sanctions. They have totally failed to cripple the Russian economy or reduce Putin’s capacity and willingness to pursue the war in Ukraine.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Biden’s threat of devastating responses if Navalny died in prison did not prevent Putin from having him killed. ; Biden has yet to produce a devastating response. ; The 500 new sanctions are far from devastating.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Interestingly, the wealthiest woman in Russia, oligarch Elena Badturina – a friend of Vladimir Putin and widow of Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow – has not suffered any sanctions. ; What is interesting about that is that she is also the woman who provided Hunter Biden’s business with $3.5 million for reasons still unknown. ; That is one of the issues being investigated in Congress.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The sanctions have not only not prevented Putin from carrying on his dirty little war, but the Russian economy has been growing and prospering. ; One can debate whether Putin is winning the war, but he certainly is not losing it. ; And all the sanctions that were to devastate Russia have hardly had any discernible impact.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is because many nations are simply ignoring the sanctions. ; Russia had more than $100 billion in oil sales in 2023. ; India – ostensibly an ally of the United States – increased its purchase of Russian oil by 13-fold since the invasion of Ukraine. Iran and North Korea both provide weapons to Russia. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">What should the United States do? ; How about we make it our policy to actually defeat Putin?</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We should declare it US and UN policy that Putin keeping any troops in Ukraine is unacceptable. ; And then start implementing an <strong>effective</strong> series of actions to prove we mean it.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The unified plan should be to interdict shipments of oil and weapons that violate the sanctions &#8230; sanction nations ignoring the sanctions on Russia &#8230; ship those jet planes to Ukraine and all the sophisticated weaponry and ammunition necessary to overcome Russan advantage in personnel and equipment &#8230; use western intelligence to target Russian assets more effectively&#8230; remove the restriction of striking military targets inside Russia &#8230; terminate the policy that prevents direct involvement by the United States and NATO &#8230; use propaganda to foment dissent inside Russia &#8230; and more.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While Congress shamefully debates financial aid to Ukraine, we should seize the $350 billion in Russian funds in foreign banks and give it to Ukraine. ; What would be more ironic than to use Putin’s own money against him.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Just the fact that Putin could be convinced that American threats are not empty, he would lose a lot of support. ; Countries such as India would have to reassess their relationship with Russia. At this point there is no downside to ignoring American leadership. ; Which means America is NOT leading.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Unfortunately, we are facing having a President too compromised and too weak to lead (Biden) and a potential future President questioning the entire idea of American aid to Ukraine (Trump). Instead of rising to the occasion, America may be ducking – and that is catastrophe news for Ukraine, the United States and the world democracies. </p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, there ‘tis.</p>

Biden issues more worthless sanctions against Putin
