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Former President Obama disagreed with then-Vice President Biden that Russia should “pay in blood and money” after it invaded Crimea in 2014, in accordance with a brand new book.
An excerpt from “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore Foreign Policy After Trump” by Politico’s Alexander Ward revealed a disagreement that came about behind closed doorways between Obama and Biden when Russian forces invaded Crimea and later annexed the peninsula, making it part of Russia.
“The Obama administration did little in response except to provide Ukraine with defensive weapons, sanction the Kremlin, and kick Russia out of the Group of Eight, turning the G8 into the G7,” writes Ward. “The United States might have done more had Barack Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, been in charge. Russia should ‘pay in blood and money’ for its actions, Biden told his boss as the 2014 invasion began. Obama disagreed, but he made Biden his effective ambassador to Ukraine during the crisis.”
BIDEN PRIVATELY DEFIANT THAT HE DIDN’T BOTCH AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL: BOOK
Former President Obama and President Biden (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Later, Obama informed Biden to not “overpromise anything” to Ukraine, the book states. But the chasm between the 2 continued to widen as Biden continued to foster his alliance by additional pledging his assist for the Eastern European nation.
As vice chairman, he traveled to Ukraine six occasions, with 5 visits occurring after the 2014 Maidan protests, the book notes. In Kyiv, alongside then-President Petro Poroshenko, Biden backed Ukraine’s quest for independence from Russia simply three days earlier than Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017.
“Ukraine, like every country in Europe, has a right to determine its own path. Yet Russia seeks to deny that choice. And the international community must continue to stand as one against Russian aggression and coercion,” Biden mentioned. “It’s no secret that Russia does not want you to succeed. It’s not just about Ukraine. It’s about the future we have long sought of a Europe whole, free, and at peace — whole, free, and at peace — something that is in the vital national interest of both the United States and all Europeans.”
BIDEN PRIVATELY DEFIANT THAT HE DIDN’T BOTCH AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL: BOOK
In a 2014 interview with The Atlantic, Obama mentioned he noticed no profit in the U.S. getting concerned in the unfolding occasions in Europe associated to Russia and Ukraine.
“The fact is that Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country, is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what we do,” Obama mentioned. “This is an example of where we have to be very clear about what our core interests are and what we are willing to go to war for.”
Between 2014 and Dec. 27, 2023, the U.S. despatched greater than $47 billion in safety assist to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression and enhance NATO ties. The Biden administration has contributed about $44.2 billion since February 2022, in accordance with a current congressional report.
Biden has been urging Congress to move a supplemental funding package deal to proceed helping Ukraine since final October.
President Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/File)
Last week, the Senate handed a $95 billion nationwide safety supplemental package deal to help Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific after a tedious procedural course of. The package deal contains $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian help for Gaza and almost $5 billion for the Indo-Pacific.
CANADA SENDING MORE THAN 800 DRONES TO UKRAINE TO SUPPORT ITS FIGHT AGAINST RUSSIA
A boy sits in a window of a destroyed constructing in Irpin, Ukraine, on May 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
“I applaud the bipartisan coalition of Senators who came together to advance this agreement, and I urge the House to move on this with urgency. We cannot afford to wait any longer,” Biden mentioned in an announcement concerning the invoice. “The costs of inaction are rising every day, especially in Ukraine. Already, we are seeing reports of Ukrainian troops running out of ammunition on the front lines as Russian forces continue to attack and Putin continues to dream of subjugating the Ukrainian people.”
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“There are those who say American leadership and our alliances and partnerships with countries around the world do not matter. They do. If we do not stand against tyrants who seek to conquer or carve up their neighbors’ territory, the consequences for America’s national security will be significant.”
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