As reported by sources in the Senate this past Saturday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he fully placed the blame for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine squarely on Democrat President Joe Biden for his choice to not place sanctions on Russia before Putin launched the military incursion.
Zelensky stated to the Senators that if the U.S. “had started sanctions months ago, there would not have been war.”
Reuters highlighted the fact that just a scant few days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine that Old Uncle Joe was “refus[ing] to unleash sanctions on Russia” until after the event started, all despite many officials, which included Zelensky, stating that the sanctions had a high probability of halting any such invasion before it even started happening.
“You tell me 100% that there will be war in a few days’ time. What are you waiting for?” exclaimed Zelensky in the days leading up to the invasion. “We will not need your sanctions after there is a bombardment, or after our state is shot at, or if we have no more borders, we do not have an economy, or parts of our state is occupied.”
Biden was on the receiving end of some extreme criticism from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) who stated that the sanctions that Biden had originally planned for Russia counter as nothing more than just a slight “slap on the wrist.”
“The sanctions that they want to put on [Russia] are nothing, it’s kind of like a slap on the wrist,” claimed Tuberville just a short time before the Russian invasion kicked off. “We’ve come up with sanctions on the Republican side that are real strong, pre and post, if they come in. So, I think it’s a huge mistake that we haven’t put some sanctions on at the beginning, said, ‘Hey, this is the start. This is how it’s gonna work. And if you think about going in, then they’re gonna get much worse.’ They need to feel that.”
CBS News went on to state the following details of the Zelensky Zoom call with the group of lawmakers:
Zelensky told lawmakers that Ukraine needs jets because its air force was destroyed on day one of the Russian invasion, according to another source who was on the call. And he asked for an oil embargo on Russia, which he said would be the most significant factor for Ukraine. Zelensky told lawmakers that if there had been sanctions in place in September or October, there would not have been an invasion.
The urgency of Zelensky’s requests was evident from the outset — he opened with a remark along the lines of “this might be the last time you see me alive.” He warned them that after Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop. Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members, will be next. He called on the U.S. to send planes and troops there now to prepare, and to release surplus Warsaw Pact planes — MIGs and Sukohvs — from Poland and other countries. A source familiar with the call said that the subject of a no-fly zone came up.