Biden's timid leadership in Ukraine on full display in Poland MiG fiasco

Fox News

By Senator Tom Cotton

Right now, the Ukrainian people are locked in a desperate struggle against Russian invaders. Their courage in the face of Russia’s brutal onslaught stands in stark contrast to the weakness in the White House.

While President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rallied his people to defend their homeland, President Biden has responded with timidity and half-measures.

Most recently, Biden rejected a plan to deliver Polish MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Ukrainians are in dire need of aircraft and spare parts to prevent Russia from gaining air supremacy, but the president refused to give the Ukrainians these valuable tools when they were practically handed to him by one of our strongest allies, Poland.

The Poles have a long and proud tradition of killing Russian invaders. They understand that helping Ukraine in its hour of need will make future Russian aggression less likely. As a result, they offered to transfer their entire fleet of MiG-29 fighters to U.S. forces for delivery to Ukraine.

The Biden administration’s response to the Polish offer was chaotic and confused. Secretary of State Antony Blinken initially gave Poland the "green light" to give fighters to Ukraine. But then, Biden balked. He scuttled the deal and sent his flacks running to the press to claim Poland’s plan was a complete surprise. Instead of presenting a united front with Poland, the Biden administration telegraphed indecision and incompetence.

Biden’s defenders claim that sending MiGs to Ukraine would have "provoked" Putin and "escalated" America’s involvement in the war. But the United States shouldn’t be cowed by hollow threats from Moscow.

Russia is bogged down in a war that’s far more costly than it predicted. The past two weeks of fighting have demonstrated the flaws of Russia’s armed forces as well as the tenacity of its enemies. If Putin attacked us or a NATO ally over a few dozen fighter jets, he would be signing up his military for a vastly larger and more painful struggle that he cannot afford to fight. He would be signing the death warrant of his corrupt regime, as well. 

Fighter jets are also no more provocative than the weapons America is already sending to Ukraine by the hundreds. We’ve already sent Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine that are turning Russian tanks and other armored vehicles into burning heaps of junk. We’ve also sent Stinger anti-air missiles that are blowing Russian helicopters and low-flying jets out of the sky.

Giving the Ukrainians more fighters won’t drag America into war; it will just make Ukraine more likely to win the war by keeping its air force in the fight.

Biden’s fighter fiasco is only the latest example of his timidity in the face of Russian aggression.

When Russia built up its forces at the Ukrainian border, Biden rewarded Putin with a glitzy summit that increased his stature while gaining no concessions. On the eve of war, he admitted that a "limited incursion" into Ukraine might divide NATO and go unpunished. Once Putin invaded, Biden had to be dragged into sanctioning Russian oil and gas.

When Putin made nuclear threats, Biden caved by canceling a routine missile test, even though the U.S. notified the Russians about the test months ago. He has even refused to give the Ukrainians real-time intelligence about the Russian invasion force, again out of misplaced fear of "escalation." But if information is too provocative to send, what can we send?

The United States must ensure that Russia pays a steep price for starting the biggest war in Europe since 1945. That means we must stand with the people of Ukraine – and arm every last one of them.

If Vladimir Putin and his oligarch allies don’t pay, they could widen the war and invade other countries, including NATO allies that we’re obligated to defend. Moreover, other tyrants may conclude that they can take territory by force and get away with it.

The Communists in Beijing are watching Russia’s invasion with great interest. The fighting that began on the plains of Eastern Europe may end on the beaches of Taiwan.

At every step, Joe Biden has allowed America’s response to be dictated from Moscow out of a fanciful fear of provocation. The wages of Biden’s weakness are Russian tanks rolling through Eastern Europe. If we fail to support Ukraine, the stakes and the flames of war will rise.