Who’s in Charge? Biden Escalates Ukraine-Russia War for Some Reason

President Biden has mere weeks left in office yet seems intent on causing as much mayhem and havoc on his way out the door as possible.

Just days ago, Biden approved Ukraine’s use of American-made long-range missiles to strike deeper into Russian territory, according to Reuters:

President Joe Biden’s administration has allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday, in a significant reversal of Washington’s policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

The move comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and follows months of pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to allow Ukraine’s military to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border.

Is there any coincidence these decisions are being made weeks before Donald Trump takes the Oath of Office for his second term? Why isn’t Biden doing everything he can to stabilize the situation before handing it off to the next administration?

Instead, the Biden administration made another escalation decision this week by sending personnel land mines to Ukraine, per Fox News:

President Biden approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine late Tuesday, a reversal of policy and yet another escalation in the conflict with Russia ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration.

Ukrainian officials have reportedly promised to only deploy the mines in Ukrainian territory and away from major population centers. The U.S. had previously withheld anti-personnel mines because of their tendency to outlast conflicts once deployed and cause injury to innocents.

Biden could’ve approved these long ago, especially the long-range missiles that Ukraine has wanted for months. Why wait until right after the election if not for purely political purposes?

Part of the selling point for Donald Trump is that he was the peace candidate and Kamala Harris was the war candidate. That point would’ve hit harder if it was Biden seen escalating the Ukraine-Russia conflict by approving more intrusive and deadly U.S.-made weapons.

In a recent sit-down with Glenn Greenwald, Tucker Carlson broke down the situation as it appears from the outside. A lame duck president doing his best to hand off a messy and difficult situation to his predecessor:

“One of the most evil things I have ever seen in my lifetime. The lame duck administration (Biden) leaving the next administration with a world war, a nuclear conflict”

— Tucker pic.twitter.com/KZjqdA2zxJ

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) November 20, 2024

As Greenwald says, this is Joe Biden or “whoever is acting in his name.” The truth is we don’t know what’s happening inside the White House right now. We don’t truly know who’s calling the shots or approving these escalations.

Almost predictably, Putin responded by launching an ICBM into Ukraine, according to Newsweek:

For the first time since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, Ukraine says Russia has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) targeting Ukraine, specifically the city of Dnipro, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Air Force on Thursday.

This development marks a significant escalation in the conflict, with Dnipro, a key city in central Ukraine, now subjected to the use of long-range weaponry typically associated with strategic military objectives.

The Ukrainian Air Force stated on Telegram that Russia launched a series of missile strikes on Ukraine, escalating its offensive with the launch of an ICBM from the Astrakhan region.

“In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation,” the air force said.

So, is anyone going to stop this from escalating further or drawing NATO into a wider conflict?

It sure seemed that with Trump’s victory, perhaps the Ukraine-Russia war would come to some eventual conclusion. Instead, it looks like the Beltway establishment is bent on escalation until the bitter end.

Then again, before we get too fatalistic, there is some hope on the horizon. According to reports, Putin says he’s open to a ceasefire negotiation so long as President-elect Trump is in charge of the discussion:

Vladimir Putin is open to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire deal with Donald Trump but rules out making any major territorial concessions and insists Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO, five sources with knowledge of Kremlin thinking told Reuters.

U.S. President-elect Trump, who has vowed to swiftly end the conflict, is returning to the White House at a time of Russian ascendancy. Moscow controls a chunk of Ukraine about the size of the American state of Virginia and is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion.

In the first detailed reporting of what President Putin would accept in any deal brokered by Trump, the five current and former Russian officials said the Kremlin could broadly agree to freeze the conflict along the front lines.

This isn’t to say we should take anything Putin says as the truth, he’s a man out for his agenda as well. Only God knows what will happen over the next couple of tumultuous months.

January 20 doesn’t seem that far off but a lot can happen between now and then.