Reliable Not Reckless

Why Washington’s Measured Support for Ukraine Reassured the World

U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a NATO summit in Washington on July 11, 2024. October 20, 2025, 7:00 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 posed a blunt test for Washington—one that many said it failed. For example, Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia at the time, urged then-President Joe Biden to “go all in,” but he did not. As a result, former National Security Advisor John Bolton called the Biden administration’s approach “ palpably inadequate ” and claimed that Biden’s weak response “gave Putin a freebie.” Then-former President Donald Trump, in turn, called Biden’s response “wea

See Full Page