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Joe Biden's strategy towards Ukraine has been widely criticized while he was president of the United States. But against the backdrop of Donald Trump's presidency, his predecessor already looks like a geopolitical genius, writes Oleksandr Motyl, a professor of political science at Rutgers University in Newark and a specialist in Ukraine, Russia and the USSR, in an op-ed for The Hill.
He recalled that Biden was criticized for the fact that military aid to Ukraine was insufficient and came too late, for not formulating a clear strategy other than supporting Ukraine “as much as necessary.” Finally, he was criticized for his apparent reluctance to bring the situation to a complete military defeat of Russia.
“This criticism was justified. But compared to what his successor is doing in the Oval Office, he now looks like a real genius,” Motyl writes.
The analyst emphasized that, despite all the shortcomings of his policy, Biden achieved three important goals: Ukraine withstood the Russian invasion, Ukraine regained a significant part of the initially lost territory, and by supporting Ukraine, Biden undermined Russia's military potential and its geopolitical influence in the world.
Trump's main accusation against Biden is the unsubstantiated claim that Russia would not have attacked Ukraine in 2022 if Trump had been the US president at the time.
“Counterfactuals are only useful for analysis if they are supported by some theory. Maybe Putin might not have invaded because Trump is tough. But maybe Putin would have invaded because Trump clearly admires him and his desire to divide the world into spheres of influence of great powers,” the analyst writes.
According to Motyl, Trump's "consistent accommodative behavior" towards Russia and its dictator looks like a much more plausible scenario for an alternative 2022 where America is ruled by Trump.
“Biden wasn’t sure he wanted Ukraine to win. Trump seems sure he wants Ukraine to lose. So, two and a half cheers for Biden’s policy on Ukraine and three loud “phews” for Trump’s policy,” the political scientist summarizes.
Trump's policy towards Ukraine: latest news
As he wrote, Donald Trump has stopped all material military aid to Ukraine and also significantly limited intelligence assistance. At the same time, the Pentagon has prohibited its allies from transferring intelligence received from the United States to Ukraine.
We also reported that after Trump came to power, there has been an obvious diplomatic warming between the US and Russia. They have already agreed to unblock embassies and are discussing economic cooperation.
