The tragic death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny is justly being condemned around the civilized world. In Washington, amid the words of outrage for the courageous Navalny, there are calls for more military aid for Ukraine to defend against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s 2-year-long invasion.
February 24 will mark the second anniversary of Russia’s war on Ukraine. President Biden wants an additional $60 billion in military aid to help Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky fight off Russia’s army. The Senate approved the money; the House has not.
If Biden is successful in getting more money, the total U.S. investment in Ukraine could approach $200 billion. If the administration has sent $130 billion in aid to Kyiv and Congress approves $60 billion more, then we are near $200 billion. Freedom is priceless. War is costly. Presidential leadership is important.
If Biden is unable to send Ukraine more money, it could lead to a ceasefire in the war. It could also lead to an independent Ukraine again becoming part of Communist Russia. Biden understands this. In 1975, then-Sen. Joe Biden voted to end military aid to South Vietnam. Saigon fell to the communists.
In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia. He had been living in Germany. Russian troops were on Ukraine’s border. If Navalny expected that his return to Russia would stop Putin from invading Ukraine, it was a tragic misjudgment.
In March 2021, Biden publicly called Putin a “killer” and said the Russian leader “would pay a price” for interfering in the 2020 presidential election.
Given the tension between Biden and Putin, Navalny might have been wise to stay in Germany. If he expected his presence in Russia to lead to a peaceful dialogue between Biden and Putin, it was another tragic misjudgment.
If Navalny expected to lead a successful coup against Putin, it was a misjudgment. Brutish Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the private military company the Wagner Group, initiated a military coup against Putin. Prigozhin was frustrated with Putin’s war plans in Ukraine. The coup failed. In 2023, Prigozhin died suddenly. Putin expressed his condolences for the “talented” mercenary leader.
If Navalny expected that Biden would save him from Putin’s incarceration or death, it was another tragic misjudgment. By ending diplomacy with Putin, Biden failed Navalny. With his fate in the hands of Biden and “killer” Putin, Navalny had no hope.
By all accounts, Navalny was a courageous man. He wanted to change his country for the better. In recent articles, Navalny was compared to South African leader Nelson Mandela.
If the Biden administration expected former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to persuade Russia not to invade Ukraine and to release Navalny, it was a tragic misjudgment. “If Anyone Can Talk Russia Out of Invading Ukraine, It’s Probably Wendy Sherman,” said The DC Brief, Time’s politics newsletter, on January 11, 2022. Sherman’s diplomacy failed Ukrainians and Americans. Biden praised her. In Washington, no one fails. She retired in 2023.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Biden said that Putin “could not remain in power.” It was a bad call for Biden. Two years later, Putin remains in power. Americans may have reached the decision, based on his many embarrassing misstatements, that Biden cannot remain in power. Ditto Vice President Kamala Harris for the same reason.
Putin, perhaps recalling Wendy Sherman, recently said he would like to see Biden re-elected. Could this be a Russian kiss of death for Biden’s re-election campaign? When Democrats meet in Chicago for their national convention, we’ll see.
