US Magazine: Helping Ukraine win was never Biden's goal

(Dan Tri) - US media said that President Joe Biden never seemed to set a goal of helping Ukraine win against Russia.

US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Reuters).

Time magazine commented that President Joe Biden's goals do not include Ukraine's victory in the conflict with Russia.

"President Joe Biden has set three goals for the US response in Ukraine. A Ukrainian victory has never been one of them. The phrase the White House used to describe its mission at the time — supporting Ukraine "for as long as necessary" — was deliberately vague. It also raised questions about what was necessary for what purpose," Time commented.

“We intentionally did not mention the territorial issue (in our message about supporting Ukraine),” Eric Green, who served on the Biden administration’s National Security Council and was in charge of Russia policy at the time, told Time.

In other words, the United States has not committed to helping Ukraine retake all of the territory controlled by Russia. The reason, Mr. Green said, is simple: The White House seems to believe that Ukraine cannot do it, even with strong support from the West.

"The more important goal is for Ukraine to exist as a sovereign , democratic, free nation pursuing integration with the West," said Mr. Green, emphasizing that this is one of three goals that Mr. Biden has set.

In addition, Mr. Biden also wants the US and its allies to maintain solidarity and avoid direct conflict between Russia and NATO.

Looking back at Biden’s leadership in the war in Ukraine, he appears to have achieved these three goals, Time noted. However, the concept of “success” with such constraints does not satisfy even some of his closest allies and advisers.

Mr. Green said that Ukraine had suffered great damage and there was still too much uncertainty awaiting Kiev in the future.

Ukraine has been frustrated with Biden's policies in recent times, despite strong US support.

In an interview in early January, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that under Biden, the US had not done enough to impose sanctions on Russia and provide weapons and security guarantees to Ukraine.

Mr. Zelensky said that although the US has provided tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine over the past three years, the Biden administration is still too cautious because it is afraid of escalating the conflict with Russia. In addition, the Ukrainian side believes that the US has not yet provided Kiev with a clear path to joining NATO, although Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly emphasized that this is a long-term security guarantee for the country in the future.

Biden has not gone further on Ukraine’s NATO membership. But he has approved some pretty dangerous moves, like allowing Ukraine to use American missiles to strike deep into Russia and imposing harsh sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.

Time notes that Biden and the US’s commitment to defending Ukraine against Russia does not mean helping Kiev defeat Moscow. So it would be no surprise if Zelensky’s goals for the future of the war continue to seem far-fetched to Ukraine.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/tap-chi-my-giup-ukraine-chien-thang-chua-bao-gio-la-muc-tieu-cua-ong-biden-20250120160923246.htm