President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday—Presidents’ Day—to reaffirm his support for that embattled nation and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Entering secretly via neighboring Poland, where he has held further meetings, for several hours on Monday his visit blocked vehicular and pedestrian traffic in central Kyiv. Air raid sirens blared dramatically as Biden and Zelensky strolled past historic sites. They embraced at a wreath-laying ceremony before a photo mural of Ukrainian soldiers who have been killed in action. Biden capped his visit by pledging another $460 million in military aid to Ukraine—just the latest tranche of U.S. taxpayer beneficence since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

here is still no endgame, but that seems to be of no importance despite continuing hints that Russia may resort to nuclear weapons. An emerging consensus also worryingly suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin views his personal and political fortunes as inextricably fused with the war’s outcome, and may be inclined to employ extreme measures to win.

Western elites may have a bottomless well of enthusiasm for the Ukrainian cause, but like most of Biden’s policies, this one is fading in popularity. According to a poll taken last week by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, for the first time since Russia’s invasion only a minority of Americans now favor sending military aid to Ukraine—48%, compared to 60% in May 2022. Many point to a worsening U.S. economy, the prospect of a deeper recession, persistent inflation, staggering new national debt figures, and federal budget woes that could soon affect entitlement spending to argue that American domestic needs trump Ukraine’s military effort thousands of miles away in places of dubious importance to U.S. security interests. With amplifying tales of Ukrainian corruption, moreover, a plurality of Americans—38%—now oppose direct financial aid to the Ukrainian government. Only 37% are in favor of it, while 23% take a neutral position.

R&I – txPAT