London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Ukraine: Blaming only Biden is not fair

Ukraine: Blaming only Biden is not fair

It was President Bill Clinton’s disastrous decision to support the nuclear disarmament of Ukraine, after the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom agreed to protect Ukraine in the event of a future attack on the nation’s sovereignty, as well as financial support and a number of other assurances. At the time of the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

At the time of the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Ukraine controlled some 5,000 nuclear weapons, including long-range missiles that carried up to 10 thermonuclear warheads, each far stronger than the bomb that leveled Hiroshima.

In 1992, Ukraine signed the Lisbon Protocol, agreeing to return the nuclear weapons it had inherited from the Soviet government back to Russia. But members of the Ukrainian parliament soon thereafter increasingly voiced serious concerns over total nuclear disarmament, in large part due to fears of a future conflict with Russia.

Throughout 1992 and 1993, Russia and the Clinton White House worked furiously to convince Ukraine to give up all of its nuclear weapons.

After substantial political pressure, Ukraine caved in 1994, but only after the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom agreed to protect Ukraine in the event of a future attack on the nation’s sovereignty, as well as financial support and a number of other assurances.

Ukraine dismantled and relinquished its nuclear weapons, giving President Clinton and the Russians a diplomatic victory. The decision has haunted Ukraine ever since.

Had Ukraine maintained at least part of its nuclear arsenal, it is highly unlikely Russia would be considering an invasion today.

Broken Promises

The most critical part of Ukraine’s 1994 agreement to disarm was the pledge by the United States, Russia, and United Kingdom to protect Ukraine against unwarranted aggression. The initial agreement, the so-called Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, was later reaffirmed in 2009 by President Barack Obama.

However, in 2014, Obama watched as Russian-backed rebels, with support from Russian troops, seized control of Crimea, a region belonging at that time to Ukraine. The rebel-backed government then seceded from Ukraine and annexed it to Vladimir Putin’s government in Russia.

The Obama administration, working alongside officials from the European Union, responded by issuing sanctions and freezing some Russian assets. They also imposed some travel restrictions. Obama did not, though, keep the promise the United States made in 1994 and 2009 to protect the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Of course, Putin didn’t flinch, and Crimea has been a part of Russia ever since.


The Big ‘Green’ Power Vacuum

President Obama were fierce opponents of the fossil-fuel industry for both of Obama’s terms. They opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, forced states to adopt "renewable" energy like wind and solar, issued countless regulations that killed hundreds of coal-fired power plants, and restricted drilling and exploration of natural gas on public lands—policies the United States has once again adopted under President Biden.

In addition to having a negative impact on U.S. economic growth, these policies caused numerous nations to turn to Russia for low-cost energy.

Instead of importing fossil fuels from American companies, the European Union has become dependent on Russia, which is now the number-one source of natural gas in Europe, supplying about 41% of the region’s supply. Russia is also the largest supplier of crude oil and coal.

Because much of Europe now depends on Russian energy, it can’t afford to stand up to Russia’s hostilities in Ukraine — or anywhere else, for that matter.

The Trump administration attempted to convince European nations to depend on the United States’ vast natural gas production instead, but such appeals largely failed because European leaders knew Donald Trump wouldn’t be president forever, and that a Democratic administration would swiftly attempt to scale back fossil-fuel development.

Or, in the words of one energy expert wrote for the National Interest in 2019, "Why bet the proverbial farm on a U.S. [liquified natural gas] supply across the Atlantic if there remains significant doubt as to whether a Democratic successor to Trump – particularly as 2020 candidates endorse the so-called ‘Green New Deal’ with varying degrees of enthusiasm — would continue with such plans?"

Afghanistan

Of course, no list of Democratic presidents’ policy failures would be complete without mentioning the US disastrous withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

As a recent report from Republicans on the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs accurately summarized, "The Biden Administration squandered precious time, ignored intelligence and recommendations from people on the ground, and refused bipartisan support to give them the resources to succeed. In the process, the botched withdrawal has tarnished America’s reputation and credibility."

And Ukraine is now paying the price.

Due to the US, UK and Biden administration’s failure in Afghanistan, the United States and UK has never looked weaker. Putin knows this, of course, and he is using the opportunity to expand his legacy, along with Russia’s borders.

Not only Democrats. Republicans have undoubtedly made few more foreign policy mistakes in recent decades. But when it comes to the chaos we’re seeing in Ukraine today, Democrats, especially presidents Clinton, Obama, deserve the lion’s share of the blame, not only Biden.

The people of Ukraine are suffering as a result of their failures.


Iran

How do we persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program, when it sees the devastating result of such a concession, in Ukraine, and in Gaddafi's Libya.



Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×