President Biden: tough on Russia
It has been approximately 49 days since Russia attacked Ukraine at the direction of Vladimir Putin. In recent days, President Joe Biden has changed his approach to the invasion. Specifically, President Biden’s is taking a more aggressive tack towards Russia. Here are three things that Biden is doing and saying that show his new course of action:
1. Sending heavy weapons to Ukraine. The Washington Post describers this move as “vastly expand[ing] the scope of weapons [the U.S.] is providing Ukraine.” The new weapons to be sent by the U.S., totaling up to $750 million, include armored Humvees, helicopters, coastal defense drones, and more. The United States and its NATO allies have balked at sending troops to fight Russia directly, or sending jets and pilots to enforce a “no fly zone” over Ukraine. Obviously any such move could trigger World War III. But there has been pressure on President Biden and other allied leaders, from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and others, to do more to help Ukraine defend itself. Sending these new weapons is edging closer to maximum involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war short of directly engaging in combat against Russia.
2. Authorizing the use of 1 million barrels per day on average for the next six months from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This is the largest release of our national oil reserve in history. President Biden’s March 31, 2022 memorandum calling for such release indicated that “The Russian Federation’s unjustified, unprovoked, and unconscionable war against Ukraine, including its further invasion in violation of international law and its ongoing destructive military campaign across Ukraine, has had a profound impact on global oil markets” and indeed has caused a “severe energy supply interruption” sufficient to trigger such release under U.S. law.
3. Saying that Russia is committing “genocide” in Ukraine. When asked about such statement, President Biden said: “It’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.” In response, President Zelensky of Ukraine tweeted:
True words of a true leader @POTUS. Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil. We are grateful for US assistance provided so far and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 12, 2022
President Biden had likewise stated recently that Putin is a “liar” and “war criminal” who “cannot remain in power.” Given the increasing number of stories of Russia committing atrocities in Ukraine, on top of the outrageous act of invading Ukraine in the first place, President Biden appears to be on very solid footing with his new approach.
Photo by Folsom Natural, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/ZJ7m4x
