The Biden administration\u2019s policy of \u201cconstraint\u201d invited Russia to \u201ctest the boundaries of its bellicosity,\u201d David L. Phillips argues
\nThe West had\u00a0\u201cmany options\u201d\u00a0to deter Russia from sending its military into Ukraine last February, but failed to avail of them and responded weakly when it happened, according to former US State Department adviser David L. Phillips, writing in the National Interest.
\nIn an article published on Friday, Phillips, who worked with the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin had\u00a0\u201ctelegraphed his plan to attack Ukraine long before the first shot was fired.\u201d
\n\u201cBy exercising unilateral constraint and making unforced concessions, the Biden administration invited Russia to test the boundaries of its bellicosity,\u201d\u00a0Phillips wrote.
\nHe argued that, with the US fearing Russia could put its nuclear weapons to use if the West interfered, Biden responded to the conflict\u00a0\u201ccarefully with half-measures.\u201d
\nBiden\u2019s early pledge that NATO troops would not be deployed in Ukraine was\u00a0\u201cunnecessary,\u201d\u00a0claimed Phillips, who directs the Program on Peacebuilding and Human Rights at Columbia University.
\nWhen it comes to sanctions on Russia, these were\u00a0\u201cimplemented so incrementally that Putin was able to cushion their impact on Russia\u2019s economy,\u201d\u00a0he added. Philips also suggested Ukraine should have been provided with\u00a0\u201cstate-of-the-art NATO weaponry\u201d\u00a0from the outset.
\nHad the West taken\u00a0\u201cproactive preventive measures\u201d\u00a0before Russia launched its offensive in February last year, this could have\u00a0“changed Putin\u2019s calculus,\u201d\u00a0he claimed. For instance, if NATO had set up a war crimes tribunal for Ukraine, the\u00a0\u201cprospect of accountability”\u00a0would act as a deterrent,\u00a0he argued.
\nOnce the conflict began, however, Phillips suggests NATO could have\u00a0\u201cdeployed more troops to frontline states like Romania\u201d\u00a0to demonstrate\u00a0\u201cresolve and readiness.\u201d\u00a0It could also have implemented a no-fly zone over certain beleaguered cities \u2013 a step the\u00a0NATO decided against, fearing it would bring the\u00a0bloc into direct conflict with Russia.
\nRussia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, citing Kiev\u2019s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev\u2019s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and\u00a0\u201ccreate powerful armed forces.\u201d
\nShortly before the hostilities broke out, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Last September, Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, were incorporated into Russia following referendums.<\/p>\n