According to recent revelations from a book by Bob Woodward, current U.S. President Joe Biden has allegedly ascribed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to a lack of fortitude demonstrated by previous leader, Barack Obama, in 2014. This assertion attributes the emboldened stance of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the perceived weakness of the former U.S. administration.
Biden privately pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama for failures that led to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II, a new book claims.
“They f–ked up in 2014,” Biden, Obama’s former vice president and onetime point person on Ukraine, vented to a friend, according to Bob Woodward’s upcoming book, “War,”
“That’s why we are here,” he added. “We f–ked it up. Barack never took [Russian President Vladimir] Putin seriously.”
There was a significant political upheaval in Crimea, Ukraine in February 2014. Soldiers without identifiable insignias, understood to be Russian, took control of government establishments across the region. This clandestine maneuvering extended to the siezure of Crimea’s main airports. Russia proceeded to illicitly annex Crimea the subsequent month.
The narrative goes that Biden held Obama accountable for Russia’s forceful foray into Ukraine. The current president was quoted in private conversation as stating, ‘They made a grave mistake in 2014… thereby placing us in our current predicament. Barack never fully recognized the extent of Putin’s intentions.’
Biden reportedly expressed a deep dissatisfaction with the previous administration’s stance on Russia. There were claims that, ‘Our inaction merely granted Putin the liberty to push the boundaries further.’ Making his position clear, Biden declared, ‘ Well, I’m set on revoking that liberty he had taken for granted!’
Observed in hindsight, Obama’s much-discussed decision to refrain from sending military aid to Ukraine during the 2014 invasion has drawn blame. A contingent of Ukrainian officials hold this perceived weakness in foreign policy as the fundamental reason behind Russia’s eventual incursion into their territory in 2022.
Back in October 2021, the Biden-Harris administration reportedly had advance knowledge of Putin’s plot to deploy a significant military force into Ukraine. This revelation came as a startling intelligence victory – akin to scoring the crown jewels in the realm of US intelligence gathering, as per the book’s observation.
The gathered intelligence was astoundingly precise, painting a vivid picture of the Russian military plans. It was as though the intelligence operatives had infiltrated the enemy’s commander’s tent, gaining access to invaluable strategic details such as the count of brigades involved, their movement, and the entire sequence planned for the multifront invasion.
The nature of the intelligence suggests that the source within the Kremlin had high-ranking access, considering the classified level of information shared with the US officials. This reaffirms the belief that the insider involved must have held a position of significant stature.
Upon learning of Russia’s audacious plan, President Biden was prompted into a strong reaction. This led to a virtual conference with Putin in December 2021, with Biden confronting the Russian leader about his impending invasion scheme. The hour-long discussion was filled with strong emotions.
The call was so intense that it reached an ultimate climax with Putin reverting to threatening gestures of ‘nuclear war.’ The interaction left echoes of a heated debate, as described in the book.
Moving ahead by six months post the invasion, US intelligence reports revealed an intimately unsettled Putin. The Russian leader was grappling with considerable losses incurred in his Ukraine operation, pushing him towards a corner of conceivable desperation.
These intelligence reports, termed as ‘exquisite’ in their detail and accuracy, further amplified the growing concern about Putin’s potential course of action amidst the challenges he faced in Ukraine. It appeared that the Russian leader was grasping at all straws, no matter how dangerous they potentially were.
Consequently, there was a growing belief amongst officials that Putin might resort to the unthinkable. The situation had reached such a precipice that authorities were mulling over the possibility of Putin turning to tactical nuclear weapons. Such prospects were considered to have a 50% likelihood of happening.
In that uncertainty, the geopolitical landscape was tense with anticipation and fearful conjecture. The Russian endeavour in Ukraine was seen as a litmus test of international discipline, and the outcome had the potential to reshape world politics in profound ways.
The geopolitical intrigue encapsulated within these revelations serves as a stark reminder of the complex realities that contemporary world leaders grapple with. How they rise to the occasion determines the course of this shared history we’re all part of.