- President Biden and his associates have had a continuous and influential presence in Ukrainian affairs since 2007
- They played a significant role in shaping Ukraine’s political direction through diplomatic efforts, support for pro-Western groups, and key appointments
- Their actions were closely tied to broader geopolitical tensions, particularly between the U.S. and Russia, with Ukraine as a focal point
- Many nations in the Global South are not convinced that Russia’s actions were unprovoked, which is why they have not condemned Russia’s actions
President Biden became Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2007 and held that influential position for two years throughout the 2008 campaign as former President Obama’s running mate.
After the inauguration, Biden named Antony Blinken to his innermost circle of officials. From 2009 to 2013, Blinken was the vice president’s national security advisor. In this position, he took a lead role in developing US policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran’s nuclear program.
Ukraine came on the radar during Obama’s first term because America, under former president George W. Bush in 2008, had failed to persuade other NATO countries to invite Ukraine to join the bloc.
On June 3, 2010, under the leadership of then-President Moscow-friendly Viktor Yanukovich, the Ukrainian Parliament approved a bill barring the country from joining NATO. It returned the nation to its professed goals in its Declaration of State Sovereignty of becoming a neutral state. It was a massive victory for Putin.
In late 2013, Ukraine was in the news because of a classic ideological conflict in Kyiv, the capital city in the western part of the state. Victor Yanukovich, with solid support from President Putin, wanted to strengthen trade relationships with Russia. But, the European Union wanted Kyiv and its liberal elite to expand trade relations with the West.
When riots broke out in Kyiv, presumably assisted by Western intelligence agencies like the CIA and MI6, President Yanukovich ordered the police to crack down on the protests.
Across the Atlantic, President Obama appointed former VP Biden as his point man in Ukraine, drawing on Biden’s relations with world leaders when he served as the Foreign Relations Chairman.
Biden called on his buddies in the Senate, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who had just won the election and become a member of Foreign Relations, and John McCain of Arizona, to visit Kyiv to show support to the pro-Western faction. They were the first US senators to land in Kyiv in December 2013.
According to Reuters, Joe Biden called President Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014 for the second time in three days and delivered a blunt message.
“Pull back your security forces now and accept a European-brokered settlement, or you will be held accountable,” Biden warned the pro-Russian leader. “It WILL catch up with you.” It was an extraordinary level of intervention in the affairs of a foreign state.
Reuters reported that while initially defiant, Yanukovich sounded subdued by the end of the hour-long call, according to a senior US official knowledgeable of the conversation. Within hours, Yanukovich signed a deal with the opposition and fled to Russia. The date was February 21, 2014.
During this entire period, the Russian government continued to protest that the actions amounted to a CIA-engineered coup when a legitimately elected leader was evicted – and attacked/annexed Crimea on February 20, 2014, to safeguard the interests of Russian speakers there.
On February 25, 2014, Chris Murphy spoke to C-SPAN, where he was almost boastful about America’s interference in a foreign country:
I think it was our role, including sanctions and threats of sanctions, that forced, in part, Yanukovych from office.
Translation: We engineered a coup.
Sen. Murphy went on:
If, ultimately, this is a peaceful transition to a new government in Ukraine, it will be the United States on the streets of Ukraine who will be seen as a great friend in helping make that transition happen.
But, the transformation to make Ukraine an American slave state was far from complete. It had to ensure that a pro-Western leader would be elected to Ukraine’s presidency to do America’s bidding. With significant American support, Petro Poroshenko, a former businessman, became president on June 7, 2014. The same day, Hunter Biden became a director on Burisma’s board.
On November 7, 2014, President Obama nominated Blinken, Biden’s right-hand man, for the Deputy Secretary of State post, the second-most powerful diplomatic position in the United States government.
On December 16, 2014, Blinken was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 55 to 38. It was about a week after Poroshenko had pushed through a vote in Parliament that abandoned the country’s neutral “non-bloc” status and set a course for NATO membership, a move immediately denounced by Russia as “unfriendly.”
Not much happened during the four years of the Trump administration, except when Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff impeached the 45th president for a phone call. Trump’s crime was that he temporarily withheld defense aid to Ukraine until President Zelenskyy would agree to investigate corruption allegations about why the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma was fired. Trump never withheld aid, and the money flowed through anyway.
Biden moved into the White House in January 2021. Within ten months, Blinken, as his Secretary of State, was at it again, persuading Zelenskyy to sign a new security agreement with America that promised weapons support, with an entire section devoted to counter Russian aggression. Russia, at the time, had not fired a shot against Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, America has consistently complained that Russia’s actions are illegal because it occupied a foreign country unprovoked.
Sorry, President Biden and team, we are not convinced that Russia’s actions were unprovoked. So, too, are the many nations in the Global South, which is why they have not condemned Russia’s actions.
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Geopolitics And Geoeconomics
1. Ukraine ‘In Deep Trouble’: Some Experts Say $1b More From U.S. Won’t Matter. – USA Today
Steven Myers, an Air Force veteran, State Department advisory panel member, and Russia expert, says the Biden administration “party line” is that Ukraine is winning and that Russia must yield to the West or become a “vassal of China.”
Myers says new Ukraine Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, a Blinken pat on the back, and the latest aid package won’t dramatically alter Ukraine’s struggle against its far-bigger neighbor.
“There is no effective counterstrategy available to the Ukrainians,” Myers said. “The Ukrainians are in deep trouble.” Ukraine and the West badly need an exit strategy, Myers said.
2. U.S. To Give $600m More In Military Equipment To Ukraine – Al Jazeera
The United States has announced a new $600m security assistance package for Ukraine, including demolition munitions, mine-clearing equipment, artillery shells, and other weaponry.
The announcement comes just a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged $1bn in new military and humanitarian aid for Kyiv, including depleted uranium ammunition for U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks expected to be delivered to Ukraine later this year.
3. Russia’s Elections In Occupied Ukrainian Regions Dismissed As ‘Sham – A.P.
Russian authorities are holding local elections this weekend in occupied parts of Ukraine to tighten their grip on territories Moscow illegally annexed a year ago and still does not fully control.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the vote a “sham” and “nothing more than a propaganda exercise.”
4. France’s Macron Says There ‘Can Be No Russian Flag’ At Paris Olympics – RFI
“There is no place for Russia as a country at a time when it has committed war crimes when it deports children,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview.
When asked about the possible presence of Russian athletes, even competing as neutrals at the Olympic Games, Macron said the decision would depend on the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
5. New Biography Says Musk Turned Off Satellite Network Being Used By Ukraine For Sneak Attack – CNN
Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian fleet last year, according to a new biography of Musk due out next week.
As Ukrainian submarine drones approached the fleet, they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,” author Walter Isaacson writes in an excerpt published by CNN. According to Isaacson, Musk’s decision was based on an acute fear that Russia would respond with nuclear weapons.
6. Chinese Exports Decline For Fourth Straight Month, Down 8.8% In August – UPI
According to China Customs, August imports dropped by 7.3% from a year ago. July exports were down 14.5%, so while still in negative territory, August figures showed some improvement.
University of Hong Kong Professor Chen Zhiwu said the business environment in China has improved after months of efforts by the State Council. He said other policies from other government agencies, though, have been contradictory.
7. Canada To Probe China’s Alleged Interference In Elections – AFP
Justice Marie-Josee Hogue will lead a public inquiry into allegations of foreign meddling – including by China – in its elections.
The appointment follows the sudden resignation in June of another official tapped to investigate the claims less formally.
Canada-China relations hit a new low this year amid accusations of Chinese meddling in Canada’s last two elections and the attempted intimidation of MPs that led to the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat in May.
8. Solomon Islands Police Deny China Shipped Guns, Following Report – Al Jazeera
Solomon Islands police denied allegations that China secretly shipped firearms to the Pacific Island nation last year, following an Al Jazeera report that uncovered new details about the controversial shipment.
Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) Commissioner Mostyn Mangau said the shipment contained imitation firearms, and there had been no attempt to smuggle or conceal genuine guns.
9. U.S., Saudi Arabia, India Discuss Possible Rail, Port Deal: Report – Al Arabiya
The infrastructure deal, if realized, could reconfigure trade between the Gulf and South Asia, linking Middle Eastern countries by railways and connecting to India by port – a Axios report citing U.S. officials.
To counter China’s Belt and Road global infrastructure push, Biden is pitching Washington as an alternative partner for and investor in developing countries at the G20, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
10. Former British Soldier Who Escaped Prison Was Accused Of Spying For Iran: Report – Al Arabiya
Daniel Abed Khalife, a former British soldier suspected of terrorism offenses, escaped from Wandsworth prison in London on Wednesday.
Khalife is charged with collecting information that could be advantageous to an enemy. “It is understood the ‘enemy’ referred to in the charge is Iran,” the BBC said.
11. Turkey: World Bank Agrees To Provide $18bn In Loans Amid Economic Overhaul – Middle East Eye
The World Bank has announced the $18bn loan package as the country moves to revamp its economic model after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s re-election in May.
Humberto Lopez, the organization’s Turkey director, said that the money will be directed towards public and private sector activities and will support reconstruction efforts following the devastating earthquake in southwestern Turkey in February and climate change mitigation efforts.
12. Kim Jong Un Reveals ‘Nuclear Attack Submarine’ – BBC
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has held a ceremony to reveal a new submarine, which Pyongyang claims can carry nuclear weapons.
In photographs released by state media, Mr Kim is standing in a shipyard, surrounded by naval officers, and overshadowed by an enormous black submarine. However, it is not yet known if this submarine is operational. The North Koreans have yet to demonstrate it can successfully fire nuclear-capable missiles.
13. Pentagon: U.S. Moving Troops Within Niger As ‘Precautionary Measure’ – UPI
The United States has roughly 1,100 soldiers stationed in Niger, representing its second-largest military presence in Africa.
Over the past few years, Niamey has grown as a strategic partner in the turbulent Sahel region. Still, that relationship has been thrown into doubt following the July 26 coup d’etat that saw the military overthrow the democratic government of President Mohamed Bazoum.
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