US President Joe Biden reaches Europe as Russia bombs Ukraine cities

Hindustan Times | Washington

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Exactly a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin went to war in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden headed to Brussels on Wednesday to reinforce the unity between transatlantic partners, announce additional costs on Russia and offer more support to Ukraine, and unveil steps to help Europe reduce its energy dependence on Russia.

Biden will also travel to Poland later this week, with the country emerging as key both in terms of the influx of refugees from Ukraine and hosting additional American troops to safeguard Nato’s eastern flank.

Setting the context for Biden’s visit, US national security adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that Russia had three objectives when it launched the war - “first, to subjugate Ukraine; second, to enhance Russian power and prestige; and third, to divide and weaken the West” - and claimed that Moscow had “manifestly failed” in achieving its objectives.

Sullivan claimed that on the first goal, Ukrainians have refused to submit and “are fighting back”. On the second goal, he claimed, “Russian power and prestige has been badly depleted. The Russian military has dramatically underperformed. The Russian economy has been rocked by powerful sanctions. The Russian high-tech and defence sectors are being choked off from key inputs. And Russia is a pariah in the international community.”

And on the third goal, the NSA said that the “nations of the free world are more united, more determined, and more purposeful than at any point in recent memory”.

The NSA said that the US, for its part, had pursued three lines of effort - help Ukraine by supplying weapons and military equipment; impose severe and escalating economic costs on Russia through the application of unprecedented sanctions; and fortify Nato and the Western alliance.

“We have made decisive moves on all three fronts, and President Biden’s trip will involve further actions on each of these three fronts,” said Sullivan.

Tightening existing sanctions on Russia

During his trip, Sullivan said, Biden is expected to impose further sanctions on Russia and tighten existing sanctions. “One of the key elements of that announcement will focus not just on adding new sanctions, but on ensuring that there is joint effort to crack down on evasion, on sanctions busting, on any attempt by any country to help Russia basically undermine, weaken, or get around the sanctions. That is an important part of this next phase.”

During the visit, Biden will also work on “longer-term adjustments to Nato force posture on the eastern flank”, and “announce joint action on enhancing European energy security and reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas at long last”. The US will also step up humanitarian support to Ukraine.

But the US’s assessment of both Russian setbacks and its own robust response has not translated into a conclusion about a quick outcome. Sullivan made it clear that there will be “hard days ahead” in Ukraine - “hardest for the Ukrainian troops on the frontlines and the civilians under Russian bombardment. This war will not end easily or rapidly”.

Biden’s visit to Poland, right at the Ukrainian border, is significant for the message of solidarity. Sullivan said, “Poland has taken the brunt of the humanitarian impact outside of Ukraine in terms of the refugee flows. Poland is where the US has surged a significant number of forces to be able to help defend and shore up the eastern flank.”