For more than six months, the Biden administration has claimed a policy of “saving” Ukraine from the Russian Bear. Instead, the “B-Team” is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin.

The Russian dictator’s original plan was a blitzkrieg-like invasion to conquer their smaller, weaker neighbor within weeks and install a pro-Moscow satrap in Kyiv. Putin seriously overestimated the Russian army’s combat capabilities and underestimated the resilience and courage of Ukraine’s charismatic President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the bravery, skill and tenacity of Ukrainian troops and civilians supported by weapons, equipment, training and technology from the West.

If recent reports we receive are correct, Russia’s army, Navy and Air Force have already suffered more than 60,000 killed and wounded in Ukraine. These Russian casualties are the result of arms and materiel supplied by the U.S., our NATO allies and other Western nations. But thanks to the “Biden Team,” this aid is being limited to keep Ukraine from “losing,” but not enough to “win” against Putin.

The Ukrainian definition of victory — winning — is territorial integrity, restoration of their 1991 borders (when the Soviet Union dissolved), sovereignty and security for their people and country. To that end, encouraged by Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and now his successor, Liz Truss, Ukraine is waging a campaign to recapture territory in southern and eastern Ukraine. President Joe Biden should support this strategy.

Putin may well be a crazy czarist, but he’s not stupid. He apparently believes time is on his side and has decided to ignore his casualty figures and the growing cost of economic sanctions against him and his regime. Instead, he is challenging European resolve by shutting down the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline to Germany on the eve of winter and threatening a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility.

Putin knows our government is being run by a timorous Biden, Pelosi, Schumer “troika,” which delivered the disastrous outcome in Afghanistan just over a year ago. He undoubtedly is counting on “deals” with Iran and China for time to erode support from Western nations providing materiel and equipment for Ukraine to fight and win.

Biden’s strategy of limiting support for Ukraine to avoid defeat rather than ensure victory is seriously flawed. Here are our recommendations for how to counter Putin’s “time is my friend” strategy and give Ukraine a chance to win before winter:

— Use all available social media and clandestine means to inform the Russian people about their horrific military losses in Ukraine and encourage protests against Putin and his regime cronies.

— Provide Ukraine with aircraft, long-range, Multiple Launch Rocket Systems and artillery capable of striking Russian supply depots inside Russian territory.

— Deliver to Ukraine’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance units U.S. long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles. These assets should be used for both Ukrainian information gathering and “real-time” delivery of munitions to support Ukrainian partisan operations against Russian military units in “occupied territories.”

— Prior to providing new weapons, train Ukrainians in Poland and Germany on how to use the equipment before Russia arrives. Florida National Guard troops do this well.

— Immediately offer incentives for U.S. energy producers to increase output of petroleum and natural gas so we again become an energy exporter and convince our European allies to break their dependence on Russian and Iranian energy.

Putin has bet his life on winning in Ukraine. He is counting on time being his ally and a weak Biden being unable to hold the West together. The steps recommended herein will help the Ukrainians not just survive but win this war against Russia. Xi Jinping in Communist China and our allies in Taiwan are watching to see what we do.

COPYRIGHT 2022 OLIVER L. NORTH AND DAVID GOETSCH