Somebody

 

knows this country has the attention span of a tic toc video. 

I assure you it was in Putin's calculus, as was the rising inflation the Fed is not going to be able top contain.

Nyet to Putin, no to masks: 5 takeaways from Biden’s first State of the Union address

"Let me be clear,” Biden said, “our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine.”

"Instead, the president is betting that sanctions and unrelenting international criticism will force Putin to back down, 

(It's what everybody has been saying for 20 years now and it hasn't worked and it's not going to work this time either.)

especially if the oligarchs who sustain and benefit from his rule start to feel the constraints. “We are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine,” he said. “Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever.”

(Like he cares? He knew all this before hand)

"Biden noted that Russia’s currency, the ruble, had already lost nearly a third of its value since sanctions were first levied. He also said that the Department of Justice would pursue more aggressive investigations of Russian oligarchs’ financial crimes."

(Why haven't they already done so?)

Still, the war in Ukraine looks increasingly as if it will become a protracted conflict. “This is a real test,” Biden said, in seeming recognition of that reality. “It’s going to take time.”