Russia Furious Over Biden's 'Farewell Gifts' to Ukraine

washington - Moscow expresses anger over President Biden fulfilling long-standing wishes of Ukraine, calling it an escalation.

The American president Joe Biden has made some long-cherished wishes of Ukraine come true. Moscow is angry and speaks of escalation. A lame duck, also known as a wingless duck. This is how an American president is usually called during the period between the elections and his departure from the White House. The successor is already gearing up by selecting a new cabinet and outlining policies, so what can he still accomplish? Quite a lot, as President Biden is currently demonstrating. Being a lame duck has its advantages.

Biden no longer has to justify himself. Voters can no longer punish decisions they do not like in the ballot box. The elections have just taken place after all. And he does not have to consider the Congress either. As long as Biden limits himself to executive orders, presidential decisions that he can make without the involvement of the parliament, there is no one in Washington who can stop him. He doesn't care if he rubs some Congress members the wrong way. His departure is imminent.

The question remains, why is Biden suddenly fulfilling long-standing wishes of Ukraine? The answer is simple: Donald Trump and the Republicans have made it clear that they will at least significantly reduce military aid to Ukraine. Trump wants to achieve peace on day 1 of his presidency, although it remains unclear how he plans to do so. Ukraine has set clear conditions for potential peace negotiations that have not yet been met, so Trump will have to persuade Kiev to make concessions, willingly or unwillingly.

On the latter, Biden has no influence. What he can still do, however, is to give Ukraine all the means to create an even more favorable negotiating position for itself. A strong control of Ukrainian troops over Russian territory in the Koersk region is important leverage to use at the negotiating table. Now that ATACMS missiles with a long range can also be used against targets in Russia and thousands of anti-personnel mines will be delivered soon by the US, the Ukrainians in Koersk can better defend themselves against Russian attempts to reclaim their territory. The mines will also be welcomed in the Donbas, where Ukrainian positions are under heavy Russian pressure.

Biden also had more farewell gifts for his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. The President earlier this month gave permission to the American defense industry to send personnel to Ukraine. This makes it easier to repair or refurbish, for example, weapons systems produced in America. Moreover, Ukraine can thus more quickly have access to repaired equipment than if it were to happen in another European country or even the US.

The Russian response to Biden's farewell gifts, especially the permission to launch ATACMS missiles on Russian territory, will not be long in coming. The US Embassy in Kiev has warned of a large Russian air strike scheduled for Wednesday. Embassy staff have already sought shelter in the bunkers as a precaution, so the doors of the diplomatic establishment will remain closed. Russia announced on Tuesday that for the first time, ATACMS projectiles had been shot down above Russian territory. The air strike could be a response to that.

It is certain that the Russians are angry about Biden's decisions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov complained on Wednesday, “Western politicians continue their policy of wanting to inflict a strategic defeat on our country”. “And of course, they use Ukraine as an instrument to achieve their goals.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of a new escalation on Tuesday: “It is a new phase of the western war against Russia.” Lavrov naturally left behind Russia's opening of hostilities in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in the Donbas, and further expanding the conflict with a large-scale invasion in early 2022.

The main concern now is that Biden's 'escalation' will lead to a Russian escalation. President Vladimir Putin has given permission to amend the Russian nuclear doctrine. This change makes it easier for the Russian military to use nuclear weapons, even in response to an attack with conventional weapons only. Moscow has long been considering using nuclear weapons, but has not yet followed through on that threat.