Ukraine’s defensive war against Vladimir Putin’s megalomanic invasion of Ukraine is dragging on. And President Biden is still maintaining his too little/too late policy of military support.
Biden still refuses to remove the restrictions he has placed on the use of American military assistance. He still will not provide the most advanced long range weaponry and eliminate his ban on attacking deep inside Russia. And what about those fighter jets?
For a time, Biden insisted that Ukraine military forces refrain from ANY incursions and attacks inside Russia. He publicly relented only after Ukraine start attacking military sites across the border.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has pleaded with Biden to provide the long-range weapons and lift any restrictions. Several of the former American military commanders who appear on news programs have also called for providing the weapons and removing any restrictions. But to no avail.
The White House rationalizes Biden’s recalcitrance by saying that Zelenskyy is doing well enough without the advanced weapons. But “well enough” is not winning the war. It is merely prolonging it. That is not good enough.
It is true that the Ukrainian military has surpassed all expectations. We should not forget how the world expected a swift Russian victory when Putin’s army was initially marching toward Kiev. The Ukrainians turned that assault into a military failure and a huge embarrassment to Putin.
It was not the Madman of Moscow’s only embarrassment. Ukrainians sunk Putin’s flagship, The Moscow, among other sea crafts. They essentially prevented Russian forces from taking a lot more territory than they held before the war. The march to take Odesa was cut short. And now Ukrainian forces have taken control of the Kursk region inside Russia. Putin has sacrificed hundreds of thousands of his young men. Think of what Ukraine could do with advanced long range weapons and fighter jets.
In response to their failing ground war, Putin is ruthlessly using his air power to attack civilian and energy targets. He is blatantly committing war crimes on a routine basis. It is time for Biden to give Ukraine all they need to win the war. And I would not rule out NATO boots on the ground.
And Biden should move swiftly. From the way Trump is talking, I worry that he would be worse than Biden in terms of Ukraine – and I am not sure where Harris stands on Ukraine. I do know she does not stand firmly behind Israel in the Hamas War.
Defeating Putin is essential to the security of the United States, NATO and the free world … period.
So, there ‘tis.