Popadyuk believes that Washington has pursued the wrong policy towards Ukraine and Eastern Europe in general from the very beginning.
The first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, waiting for the meeting with the 41st President of the United States, spoke with the White House Assistant for Media Affairs. In ukrainian. That was enough for Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleberger.
“I know where to send you,” he told Roman Popadyuk.
Thus, in 1992, Popadyuk, who was born in Austria to a family of Ukrainians who later immigrated to the United States, became the first US ambassador to Ukraine immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This experience puts him at the starting point of relations between the countries that began three decades before the current efforts to help Kyiv in the fight against Russian aggression. And he gave a stern verdict on the work of the US government during this time: “I think we did everything wrong from the beginning.”
CNN writes about this, adding that there is no party color in these words. During his career, Popadyuk did not receive a position due to his party affiliation. And his personal story has a very American spirit. The family of the future diplomat, with the help of a Catholic charity, settled in Brooklyn after a short period spent on a farm in Iowa. In 1959, when Popadyuk was 9 years old, an immigration officer presented him with a certificate of American citizenship. It happened before Thanksgiving.
“He told me, 'Do you like turkey?' Then you are an American, “Popadyuk recalled with a smile. Spokesman Larry Speaks made Popadyuk his deputy for foreign affairs. He held the same position when the George W. Bush administration sent him to Kyiv.
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, all US diplomatic attention was focused on Russia to help it modernize its economy. And also on cooperation in the field of security with the former enemy of the Cold War. Former Soviet republics, such as Ukraine, did not receive such attention, Popadyuk recalls. As ambassador, he initiated a discussion of what is now known as the Budapest Memorandum. Under the terms of the document, Ukraine renounced the huge nuclear arsenal that remained on its territory after the collapse of the Soviet Union in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the United States and Britain. Ukraine's concession was “smaller than it seemed” because Russia controlled all nuclear weapons launch codes. But Popadyuk says the government in Kyiv should have received more economic and military aid from the United States.
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Washington's subsequent mistakes were driven by a desire to maintain positive US-Russian relations. President George W. Bush has said he “looked into the soul” of Vladimir Putin. And then reacted very restrainedly to the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. President Barack Obama, who wanted to “reset” relations with the Kremlin, did the same when Russia occupied Crimea.
“Both administrations did not realize the real threat,” Popadyuk concluded.
President Donald Trump has exacerbated internal divisions that Putin has used to weaken America's response to his aggression. In particular, Trump tried to put pressure on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, demanding political services. However, according to Popadyuk, Trump's presidency did not particularly affect Putin's calculations. Similarly, the first US ambassador to Ukraine refuses to accuse President Bill Clinton of supporting NATO enlargement through membership of Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. But it doesn't matter. Russia's historical desire to control Ukraine, according to Popadyuk, is much deeper than all these events.
That is why he is now criticizing President Joe Biden, who released so much accurate intelligence about Putin's intentions before the war, but did not do enough to prevent Kyiv from taking up arms.
“If you knew that there will be an attack against Ukraine, why didn't they give the Ukrainian army everything it needed? We need to be ahead of Putin, “said the first US ambassador to Ukraine.
The courage of Ukrainian soldiers and their own incompetence surprised Putin. As well as the unity that Biden and European countries have been able to demonstrate. But Popadyuk says the Allies' reaction is still too restrained for fear of nuclear escalation. NATO did not hand over Soviet fighter jets to Ukraine to avoid a potential Russian attack to which the alliance would have to respond militarily.
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“We have allowed Putin to set the rules of the game,” Popadyuk said, adding that the catastrophic escalation should be a burden on Moscow.
Russia's strikes on civilians in Ukraine have intensified after the Russian army failed to achieve its goals. Last week, a rocket crashed into a train station in Kramatorsk. In addition, Russian troops will shell hospitals. And the mass executions of civilians in Bucha shocked the world. And the more such atrocities occur, the more they resist the Allies' direct confrontation with Russia over NATO's closure of Ukraine's skies.
“There should be red lines in the West,” Popadyuk said. He explains that the price for Putin should be so high that it will change his perception of the balance between profit and loss.
. However, according to Popadyuk, one thing is for sure: no matter what the United States and Europe do, Ukrainians will not stop defending their country.
“This is a cultural war for the survival of Ukrainians. If at least one soldier stands, the battle will continue, “he said.
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