Barack Obama has become the latest former president to condemn Vladimir Putin’s deadly attack on Ukraine.
Obama, who was president when Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, issued a blistering statement Thursday after Russia began launching Putin-ordered attacks against its east European neighbor in a ‘brazen attack on the people of Ukraine.’
‘The consequences of Russia’s reckless actions extend beyond Ukraine’s borders,’ Obama said. ‘This illegal invasion in the heart of Europe also threatens the foundation of the international order and security.
‘For some time now, we have seen the forces of division and authoritarianism make headway around the world, mounting an assault on the ideals of democracy, rule of law, equality, individual liberty, freedom of expression and worship, and self-determination. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows where these dangerous trends can lead – and why they cannot be left unchallenged.’
He said he and wife Michele will pray for ‘all those who will bear the cost of a senseless war’.
Former president Barack Obama issued a blistering statement Thursday as Russia began fighting with Ukraine over control of the east European country. The 43rd president called it ‘brazen attack on the people of Ukraine’ that could yield worldwide consequences
‘The consequences of Russia’s reckless actions extend beyond Ukraine’s borders,’ Obama said. ‘This illegal invasion in the heart of Europe also threatens the foundation of the international order and security’
The 43rd president – whose relationship with Putin has been notoriously tenuous – was considered among critics to have been too soft on Russia during his time in office.
Obama’s top national security official James Clapper said this week that he wished his administration would have done more to punish Russia for annexing the Crimea in 2014.
When asked whether the White House should have come down harder on Putin at the time, the former director of national intelligence told Fox News: ‘Oh, yes, I do. I wish we as an administration had been more aggressive in 2014.’
Clapper also warned that Russia has become ‘more emboldened than it was eight years ago’ when it invaded Crimea.
As of Thursday afternoon, dozens of people were reported dead following the first day of conflict. Ukrainian servicemen are pictured next to a destroyed Russian armored vehicle outsie Kharkiv on February 24, 2022
James Clapper, who served Obama as a top national security official, warned that Russia has become ‘more emboldened than it was eight years ago’ when it invaded Crimea
During a January Senate hearing, Biden’s pick for assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs also blasted the Obama White House’s response to the Crimean takeover.
‘And it’s confirmed by the lessons that I learned, and that I believe others in the national security community learned, to better address Russia’s ongoing aggression.’
She added that, in retrospect, ‘it would have been appropriate and necessary to provide’ weapons to Ukraine.
Her criticism, though directed at Obama’s White House, reflects on Biden as his Vice President who had taken an interest in Ukraine among other unappetizing foreign-policy tasks.
Obama in his statement called upon others to join him in ‘loudly and clearly’ condemning Russia.
‘And every American, regardless of party, should support President Biden’s efforts, in coordination with our closest allies, to impose hard-hitting sanctions on Russia – sanctions that impose a real price on Russia’s autocratic elites,’ he said.
‘There may be some economic consequences to such sanctions, given Russia’s significant role in world energy markets. But that’s the price we should be willing to pay to take a stand on the side of freedom.’
Also Thursday, former President George W. Bush issued a scathing statement condemning Putin for what he called the ‘gravest security crisis’ in Europe since World War II.
Russian President Vladamir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine this week in a move that was widely condemned by world leaders
He said he and wife Michele will pray for ‘all those who will bear the cost of a senseless war’.
Putin’s land and air attack on the sovereign Slavic state elicited global outrage, fueling comparisons to Nazi Germany’s invasion into its neighbors in the mid-20th century.
Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Thursday that ‘we haven’t seen anything like this since Hitler invaded Poland.’
As of Thursday afternoon, dozens were killed and it was reported that Kiev’s troops had lost control of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the site of an infamous nuclear meltdown, where a severe enough Russian attack could trigger a radiation cloud across Europe.
Images of rockets hitting apartments and Ukrainian civilians fleeing in bumper-to-bumper traffic and praying in public squares followed reports of Russian missiles targeting the Ukrainian government’s military bases and airports.
‘Russia’s attack on Ukraine constitutes the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II,’ Bush said in a statement. ‘I join the international community in condemning Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.’
Donald Trump’s takeaway from the attempted takeover varied drastically as he praised Putin’s strategic approach, which began by entering separatist-occupied regions.
‘I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, “This is genius,”‘ Trump said Tuesday during an interview with conservative podcaster Buck Sexton. ‘Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine – of Ukraine – Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful.’
‘I said, “How smart is that?'” the former U.S. president continued. ‘And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right.’
