The first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, while waiting for a meeting with the 41st President of the United States, spoke with a White House aide for media relations. in Ukrainian. That was enough for Undersecretary of State Lawrence Eagleberger.

“I know where to send you,” he told Roman Popadiuk.

So 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 USSR.. This experience places him at the starting point of relations between countries that began three decades before the current efforts to help Kiev in the fight against Russian aggression.. And he issued a stern verdict on the work of the American government during this time: "

CNN writes about this, adding that there is no party connotation in these words.. Popadiuk did not receive a position throughout his career due to party affiliation. And his personal history 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 Popadiuk was 9 years old, an immigration officer presented him with a certificate of American citizenship.. It happened before Thanksgiving.

\? Then you are an American,” Popadyuk recalled with a smile..

After receiving a master's degree in international relations and passing the foreign service exam, he received a non-political position in the Ronald Reagan White House. Press Secretary Larry Speaks Makes Popadiuk His Deputy for Foreign Affairs. He held the same post when the George W. Bush administration sent him to Kyiv..

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, all US diplomatic attention was on Russia to help it modernize its economy.. And also on security cooperation with a former Cold War enemy. Former Soviet republics like Ukraine didn't get that much attention, Popadiuk recalls.. As ambassador, he initiated the discussion of what is now known as the Budapest Memorandum.. Under the terms of this document, Ukraine abandoned the huge nuclear arsenal that remained on its territory after the collapse of the USSR in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the United States and Great Britain.. Ukrainian concession was 'less than it seemed' because Russia controlled all the trigger codes for nuclear weapons. But Popadiuk says the government in Kyiv should have received more economic and military aid from the US..

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Washington's subsequent mistakes were driven by a desire to maintain a positive U.S.-Russian relationship.. President George W. Bush said he " And then he reacted very reservedly to the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. President Barack Obama, who wanted to "

“Both administrations did not realize the real threat,” Popadiuk concluded..

President Donald Trump exacerbated internal divisions that Putin used to dampen the American response to his aggression.. In particular, Trump tried to put pressure on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, demanding political favors.. However, according to Popadiuk, the Trump presidency did not particularly affect Putin's calculations.. Also, the first US ambassador to Ukraine refuses to accuse President Bill Clinton of anything, who supported the expansion of NATO through the membership of Ukraine and other countries of Eastern Europe.. But it is not important. Russia's historical desire to control Ukraine, according to Popadiuk, is much deeper than all these events..

That is why he criticizes President Joe Biden, who released so much accurate intelligence about Putin's intentions before the start of the war, but did not do enough to proactively arm Kyiv..

“If you knew that there would be an attack against Ukraine, why didn’t you 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 inability surprised Putin. As well as the unity that Biden and the countries of Europe were able to demonstrate. But Popadiuk says the allied response is still too restrained for fear of nuclear escalation.. NATO did not transfer Soviet fighter jets to Ukraine to avoid a potential Russian attack, which the alliance would have to retaliate militarily.

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“We let Putin set the rules of the game,” says Popadiuk, adding that the catastrophic escalation should have been a burden on Moscow..

Russian strikes on civilians in Ukraine have become more and more brutal after the Russian army failed to achieve its goals. Last week, a rocket fell on the railway station in Kramatorsk. In addition, Russian troops will shell hospitals. And the mass executions in Bucha shocked the world. And the more such atrocities occur, the more they experience the resistance of the allies to a direct confrontation with Russia due to the closing of the Ukrainian sky by NATO forces..

“The West should have red lines,” Popadiuk says. He explains:

for Putin, the price must be so high that it changes his perception of the balance between gain and loss..

Ex-ambassador fears that in order to end the war, he will have to recognize Russian control over Crimea and part of eastern Ukraine. However, according to Popadiuk, one thing is for sure: no matter what the US and Europe do, Ukrainians will not stop defending their country..

“This is a cultural war for the survival of Ukrainians. If even one soldier stands, the battle will continue,” he said..