But it comes at a time when Washington’s main concern is that Mr. Putin will escalate the war — and resort to weapons of mass destruction.
Hours before Biden’s statement, his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told Putin’s chief national security adviser Nikolai P. Patrushev that “any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine” would result in an even tougher Western reaction. Several of Biden’s aides expressed concern that if the Russian leader feels cornered or thinks the United States is trying to foment opposition, he is more likely to resort to such weapons.
War Between Russia and Ukraine: Important Things to Know
So the debate now underway in Washington is exactly what could trigger Mr Putin. Some believe he could lash out if dissent in Russia, already visible in street demonstrations, pose a real threat. Others believe that his trigger point could be a more direct entry into the war by NATO countries. They are already supplying anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons that have contributed to what the Pentagon now estimates at a Russian death toll of at least 7,000 troops.
A former intelligence official noted that it was Hillary Clinton’s support of anti-Putin street demonstrations in Russia that prompted him to order the hacking of the Democratic National Committee when Mrs. Clinton ran for president in 2016. Mr Putin is a believer, the official said, in retaliation.
Mr Putin would have good reason to think the Biden administration is looking forward to his departure, although US officials choose their words carefully to avoid the implication that Washington’s policy is to speed up the process. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr Blinken said that “when all is said and done, there will be an independent Ukraine, and at some point Vladimir Putin will not.”
The last time a US president took on a Russian or Soviet leader with so much at stake was 60 years ago, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, widely regarded as the closest world came to Armageddon. And yet, at that point, in October 1962, President Kennedy’s instinct was not to personalize the conflict — and to help his Soviet counterpart, Nikita S. Khrushchev, find a way out of a direct confrontation.
“I think it’s the most natural comparison to this moment,” said Harvard historian and Kennedy biographer Fredrik Logevall.
