President Biden’s surprise trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, is not expected to have any impact on the Russia-Ukraine war, according to an expert who believes Putin will keep up military pressure in the hopes of forcing Ukraine to negotiate for peace.
Biden arrived in Ukraine on Monday to unveil more U.S. assistance to Ukraine alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This marks Biden’s first visit since Putin invaded the country almost one year ago.
Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting, former DIA intelligence officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” spoke to Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview to discuss what impact the trip may have on the ongoing conflict.
“Zero. The visit itself is kind of a feel-good strategy by Biden. It doesn’t do anything to Putin. He’s just marching forward with his agenda, with his objectives. And the visit itself, it really doesn’t do anything,” Koffler said.
PRESIDENT BIDEN MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO KYIV, UKRAINE, MEETS WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY
President Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv on Feb. 20, 2023, ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital on his first visit to the country since the start of the conflict. (Dimitar Dilkoff)
Koffler said Putin will most likely assume that Biden will use his visit was to urge Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russia.
“Putin’s current assessment… is that the purpose of Biden’s visit is to put pressure on Zelenskyy to negotiate for a settlement with Russia,” she said. “He knows there’s Ukraine fatigue in the West, he knows the U.S. and Europe are depleting our weapons stockpile as a result of massive outflows of high-tech military hardware to Ukraine, and he knows we are concerned about the China threat.”
As a result, Russia will likely keep up military pressure on Ukraine, assuming that their assessment is correct, Koffler believes.
“So Putin’s intelligence services are now trying to confirm that their assessment is correct. The on-going offense will ratchet up tomorrow, coinciding with Putin’s speech or even in the early hours,” she stated, adding that while Biden is in Ukraine, Russia will “ensure there’s no accident that would make the conflict spiral out of control.”
President Biden, center, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, as they pose with Olena Zelenska, left, spouse of President Zelenskyy, at Mariinsky Palace during an unannounced visit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (Evan Vucci)
The Biden administration has spent an estimated $113 billion on military and civilian aid to Ukraine since the war began and on Monday announced $500 million more worth of military equipment would soon be headed for Ukraine. The new assistance will include shells for howitzers, anti-tank missiles, air surveillance radars and other aid.
However, Koffler said the Biden administration failed to prepare for the conflict and even today is lacking a strategy for delivering victory to Ukraine.
“What Biden says is just all the happy talk. It’s because he absolutely failed. He and his security team have failed to anticipate and prepare for this conflict,” Koffler continued. “They’re just schizophrenically throwing weaponry to Ukraine, sucking the American taxpayer dry. And as far as Zelenskyy, is it going to help them? Well, that’s another thing. You know, talks and weaponry don’t win wars. Strategy does.”
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“Biden administration has no strategy for victory, has no exit strategy. And in fact, with the depletion of our own weapons stockpile, that’s right now under review at the Pentagon, because of that unpreparedness, we have not transitioned on to a wartime footing because we’re not officially at war,” she said. “And so our production capacity is limited. Ukrainian’s burn rate is very high in terms of ammo. So they’re now signaling to Ukraine that this open spigot is not going to remain open forever. So no impact. His visit has no impact on anything.”
President Biden, center, poses with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and Olena Zelenska, left, spouse of President Zelenskyy, at Mariinsky Palace during an unannounced visit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (Evan Vucci, Pool)
The administration has received pushback from some lawmakers who oppose funneling more money to the country, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who said Ukraine should not receive a “blank check.”
“It feels sometimes to me like we’re just shoveling money over there without any clear plan for what it’s meant to accomplish,” Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, recently told Fox News.
Biden delivered remarks during his meeting with Zelenskyy at Mariinskyi Palace to reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine, amid ongoing tensions with Russia.
The one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine is on Feb. 24, 2023. (Mikhail Klimentyev)
“Over the last year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support – and that support will endure,” Biden said during a speech.
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Ukrainian officials warned civilians of a massive barrage of missiles that Russia may launch on Friday, Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of Putin’s invasion.
Fox News’ Landon Mion, Anders Hagstrom, and Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
