Biden says Zelensky 'didn't want to hear' U.S. warnings of invasion

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

President Biden said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “didn’t want to hear it” when U.S. intelligence officials raised warnings of a looming Russian attack before the Feb. 24 invasion, according to the Associated Press.

Biden, who along with Congress has deepened U.S. involvement in the global effort to reject the Russian invasion by recently finalizing more than $40 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance, spoke at a Democratic fundraising event in Los Angeles on Friday night, according to the AP and Bloomberg News. The president spoke about the American commitment to supporting Ukraine four months into the invasion, saying, “Nothing like this has happened since World War II.”

During his talk, Biden also mentioned how U.S. intelligence had warned Zelensky and the Ukrainian government before the invasion began.

“I know a lot of people thought I was maybe exaggerating,” the president said, according to the AP.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/biden-says-zelensky-didnt-want-to-hear-us-warnings-of-invasion/ar-AAYlRO9

[chowder66]

1. Who could blame him (Zelensky) considering what Trump tried to do.

[PortTack]

2. Exactly! Not to mention it causing panic in the country

[dalton99a]

3. The final warning about the airport probably saved his life

[Tomconroy]

4. Not sure this is the time to bring this up.

[Generic Brad]

5. Yes. We are still in the "Thoughts and Prayers" stage

[femmedem]

6. That was my first thought as well.

What good does it do, and what is the potential damage to the relationship between the two countries and to the morale of the people who depend on Zelensky's leadership?

[Raine]

18. Totally agree. nt

[Baitball Blogger]

7. I remember. Zelensky was said to have opted for a

Politicians’ response, which obviously failed.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

9. Some might argue...

that a "politicians response" [a Republican-type one, anyway] would have been to hop on a NATO bus to safety.

Instead Zelenskyy stayed knowing that his life was in very serious jeopardy, and that singular act of heroism rallied his people.

He may have been slow to listen to Joe Biden, who had the straight story, but in the defining moment Zelenskyy became a person of legend who will be remembered as a person who helped change the course of history.

Joe Biden is going to look pretty great himself. We are fortunate to have this person at the helm in this challenging time.

Sláva Ukrayíni!

Sláva Baydenu!

[Baitball Blogger]

11. Let's just bring this baby home to an acceptable conclusion!

The important thing is that neither Biden or Zelensky will be underestimated again.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

13. That's for sure!

[Xolodno]

17. He had help from the Russian FSB...

...they warned him of a Chechen plot to assassinate him.


https://inews.co.uk/news/world/president-zelenksy-russia-assassination-plot-foiled-fsb-ukraine-1493210

Which is probably why he can stay in the capital, he knows Putin does not want him dead. Why? Don't have a clue.

[Raine]

19. EXACTLY! nt

[JI7]

23. Even if he believed Biden I don't know what he could have done

differently .

[roamer65]

8. I don't like this being brought public.

Smacks a bit of the faulty logic where people say FDR was to blame for Pearl Harbor.

No one forced the Japanese to attack, nor the RuZZians in this case.

[question everything]

10. What a difference would this have made?

[TheProle]

12. Well for one thing

Zelensky’s belated pleas for weapons “now” would have had an earlier “now”…

[Phoenix61]

14. This! nt

[Igel]

15. Yet Ukraine asked for weapons early.

Pre-invasion.

They got some. Not nearly enough. And only after the model for this war was set: Limit Ukr's abilities, force a settlement. So no lethal weapons provided to Ukr until 2018. That's shameful.

Now, imagine that Ukraine in the 6 months prior to invasion had armed, trained, and positioned troops close to the Ru border. Planes, howitzers, etc.

"They were going to invade us!" the non-victim victimizer Putin squealed faced with and outgunned Ukr military.

Much of the world already thinks NATO provoked this. Putin has at least one leg to stand on. Say it's not so, but that's Africa, South America, China, S and SW and SE Asia. Count the bodies.

Now add in the proposed pre-war training and arming?

It's a Catch-22. If you don't, you're f**cked; if you do, you're effing screwed. Zelensk'kyy's playing his hand as best he can. It's a sucky hand. But he's already finessed a good 3, 4 tricks. (Bridge terminology here.)

[Phoenix61]

16. I have nothing but respect for Zelensky.

Nothing but total loathing for Putin and his enablers.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

20. We were criticised for providing UKR with the weapons that we did before the invasion

including by many on the far-left, like Noam Chomsky, Chris Hedges, and the crew at the Nation, as a "provocation" of Putin.

Imagine if they'd been armed to the teeth.

Water under the bridge now.

Now we need to keep a flow coming that will help ensure Putin does not prevail.

[JI7]

24. People would have claimed THAT was why Putin attacked

[andym]

21. Biden's presidency hinges on getting Ukraine sufficient quality & quantity of arms to defeat Russia

and cause Putin's downfall. Why? Oil sanctions against Russia will keep gas prices high and feed inflation (which has other causes too, but oil prices are now a major contributor). The withdrawal of Russian troops and the downfall of Putin will end the sanctions and reduce oil/gas prices, decreasing inflationary pressure.

As for Zelinsky, there was not much he could do even with the warnings except prepare for war, which the Ukrainian forces did do.

[JI7]

22. Most people thought Biden was exaggerating or that it was some

political strategy on his part.