President Joe Biden has openly critiqued the Obama administration’s response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. In Bob Woodward’s upcoming book, War, it’s revealed that Biden, during a candid conversation late last year, expressed frustration with how his former boss handled the situation, particularly regarding Russian forces’ incursions into Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Woodward quotes Biden as saying, “They f***** up in 2014,” pointing out that Obama “never took [Russian President Vladimir Putin] seriously.” Biden emphasized that the White House “never should have let Putin just walk in there,” criticizing the inaction during Russia’s initial invasion.
Former President Donald Trump has also attributed blame to Obama for his handling of Putin’s aggression, which evolved into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He remarked in a 2018 briefing that Obama allowed a significant part of Ukraine to be taken and reiterated that “that was President Obama’s regime.”
As the Ukraine conflict continues, Biden and Trump have diverged in their strategies. The Biden administration remains committed to supporting Ukraine through substantial aid, with Vice President Kamala Harris promising to uphold this commitment if elected. In contrast, Trump has been more ambiguous about his future plans and has criticized Zelensky’s leadership and ongoing aid to Ukraine, stating, “We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal.”
Since the invasion, the Crimean Peninsula has become a vital military stronghold for Russia, with Ukraine’s forces actively targeting infrastructure there to counter the ongoing threat.