Biden never intended to ensure Ukraine’s victory over Russia or the return of its territories, – The Times

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden never intended to ensure Ukraine’s recovery of lost territories or its victory over Russia.

This was reported by Simon Shuster, a journalist for the American magazine The Time, in his article titled “Biden’s Victory in Ukraine Became Zelensky’s Loss.”

He asserts that Kyiv’s victory was never among Biden’s goals and that “the U.S. did not promise to help Ukraine reclaim all territories occupied by Russia,” both since 2022 and since 2014.

“Biden did not promise that Ukraine would regain more of its territory or even endure this war,” Shuster writes.

According to the journalist, the rationale behind this policy was based on the White House’s belief that a military victory over Russia was beyond the capabilities of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, even with significant Western support.

“This ultimately would not have been a success story. A more important goal was preserving Ukraine as a sovereign, democratic country free to pursue integration with the West,” Shuster quotes Eric Green, who served on Biden’s National Security Council overseeing U.S. policy toward Russia.

Two other goals Biden achieved in Ukraine were maintaining Western unity and avoiding a direct war with Moscow. However, according to Green, the downside was “so much suffering for Ukraine and so much uncertainty about where this ultimately ends.”

“Biden made it clear that defending Ukraine from Russia is not synonymous with defeating Russia. So, it’s no surprise that this goal remains distant for Zelensky,” Shuster writes.

Earlier, CNN reported that negotiations to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict would begin in the first half of 2025, even if Kamala Harris were to win the presidency.