Despite over two months of trying to bloody and bomb Ukraine into submission to prevent its strategic drift to the west, Vladimir Putin may soon face one of his worst strategic nightmares: the NATO alliance he despises is about to get larger and stronger. And not a minute too soon.

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President Biden's escalating sanctions and increased military aid for Ukraine, in response to Vladimir Putin's invasion, have crippled Russia's economy, strengthened Ukraine's resistance, unified NATO allies and prompted Europeans to rethink their security policies and increase defense spending.

But the horrendous price Ukrainians are paying has prompted questions about whether the U.S. and other democracies could have done more before the invasion to deter Putin, and whether Washington is doing enough even now to help Ukraine.

Has Biden fundamentally misjudged Putin? And, as Putin escalates his threats to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, is Biden still doing so?

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Since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine two and a half weeks ago, more than 330 companies have announced that they are suspending or terminating their operations in Russia, according to a list compiled by Yale University professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. While Russia's aggression was certain to provoke some reduction of trade, the unprecedented scale and speed of the boycott has surprised even the most seasoned analysts. Boycotters include many with significant financial stakes in Russia, and some were pioneers of Western investment in Soviet Russia and corporate emblems of the end of the Cold War.

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The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is now in Russian hands. Europe exhaled when the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that the fire at the plant on Thursday night caused by Russian shelling was extinguished, that its six reactors were intact, and that there was no release of radioactive material from the plant.

But while the prospect of nuclear meltdown has receded for now, Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear blackmail of Ukraine and the West continues.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, located in eastern Ukraine near the largely Russian-occupied Donbas, supplies 20 percent of Ukraine's power, providing electricity to some four million Ukrainian homes.

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In his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Biden was forceful in denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked, brutal assault on Ukraine. But he should have used the high-profile occasion, and should still do so, to speak directly to one of the few parties that can stop the horrendous slaughter of Ukrainians – the Russian people.

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