In response to Russia's decision to amass troops and military equipment along its border with Ukraine and following President Joe Biden's virtual meeting with Vladimir Putin this week, the White House is reportedly set to urge Ukraine to appease Russia in a nonsensical attempt to avoid a hostile takeover.
According to The Associated Press, officials in the Biden administration "have suggested that the U.S. will press Ukraine to formally cede a measure of autonomy to eastern Ukrainian lands now controlled by Russia-backed separatists who rose up against Kyiv in 2014."
So... it's not okay for Russia to invade Ukraine to seize and annex territory, but it's ok for Russia to intimidate and coerce Ukraine into handing over control of its territory to Russia-backed separatists? This latest attempt to secure peace through weakness fits Biden's foreign policy strategy, but doesn't jive the White House's claims that the president is holding the line against Russia.
Joe Biden and Biden-Harris officials are pushing Ukraine to give up territory to Putin in exchange for promises that he won't invade even further, for now. It's the literal definition of appeasement. Utterly disgraceful. https://t.co/jhVeCdAsvN
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 9, 2021
As The AP put it, "For Biden, the challenge will be encouraging Kyiv to accept some of the facts on the ground in eastern Ukraine, without appearing to cave to Putin — a perception that could embolden the Russian leader and unleash a fresh line of condemnations by Republicans as Biden’s popularity is already in decline." You think? The United States "helping" Ukraine by advocating for a "solution" that benefits Russia without penalties is just, well, peak Biden diplomacy that proves he's weak and ineffective at leading the free world.
The message Biden is sending is that even our foes don't need to worry about the United States coming to the aid of its friends, and — as Biden is apparently doing in this case — might even be able count on the U.S. to advocate on behalf of its enemies' interest.
Students of history may recall that appeasement has not been a great deterrent to additional invasions or aggression in Europe, but the Biden administration is apparently keen to try giving Russia some of what it wants in order to quell their aggression. As before, though, caving to Russia will give Putin the signal that he can keep ramping up his hostile activity toward other countries without punishment beyond a scolding from Biden on a video call.
The Pentagon reported that there hasn't been any "major change" in the Russian military presence along the border with Ukraine since Biden's virtual meeting with Putin, but why would there be? If President Biden is pressing Ukraine to appease Russia, why does Putin need to do anything other than maintain his threatening presence and wait for Biden to do the work for him.
* PENTAGON SAYS NO MAJOR CHANGE SO FAR TO RUSSIAN BUILDUP NEAR UKRAINE BORDER SINCE BIDEN-PUTIN TALKS@Reuters
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) December 9, 2021
It's worth noting that Russia's last land-grab took place when Joe Biden was in office as Vice President, and now that he's in the Oval Office, Russia is making another attempt to expand its territory — something it didn't try during the four years President Trump was in office.
By the way, is it at all notable that Crimea became part of Russia during the Obama administration, and now Russia is supposedly preparing to invade Ukraine during the Biden administration, but never did either when they had their blackmail-controlled puppet in the White House?
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 8, 2021