Russia invaded its neighbor, Ukraine, in February 2022. Since that time, US involvement in the conflict has continued to grow. At every step of the way, President Joe Biden and his White House have made promises on the limits of that engagement, and time and time again, those promises have been broken.

Reporters in the White House briefing room have asked about the ever changing limits, the lines that keep being drawn then crossed, and what they have heard back are excuses and equivocations.

F-16s

"That's called World War 3," Biden said in March 2022 when asked if the US would provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"The idea that we’re going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews — just understand, don’t kid yourself, no matter what y’all say, that’s called World War III," Biden said.

Biden was asked outright in January 2023 if the US would send F-16s to Ukraine.

"No," he said.

Ukraine's President Voldymyr Zelensky had been asking for the jets, but for the Biden administration, this was basically a non-starter — or at least that's what they said. Reasons for not sending them included the lack of training for Ukrainian pilots and their lack of knowledge to maintenan the high-tech jets.

On March 16, 2023, the White House repeated the promise that F-16s would not go to Ukraine. This came as Poland sent some of their Russian, MiG-29 jets to aid the war effort. US National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, said that Poland's plan to send jets did not change the US policy. That "doesn't change our calculus with regards to F-16s," Kirby said.

Yet, on March 4, Ukrainian fighter pilots were trained on F-16 simulators in Arizona. This was called a "familiarization event." A defense official said at the time, "This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities."

By May, Biden had authorized the sending of F-16s to Ukraine from US allies in the G7 who had their own stock of the jets. The administration seems to think that because the US didn't directly send the planes, but instead allowed others to send them, this wasn't a breach of policy. Russia warned that they saw this move as a US and allied escalation in the conflict. 

Abrams Tanks

Biden authorized the sending of Abrams Tanks to Ukraine in January. This is despite his administration having previously claimed such a move would lead to global conflict. In March 2022, Biden said that "The idea that we're going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand, that's called World War 3, okay?"

The commitment to send tanks in January 2023 made many recall these remarks, and numerous fact-checkers rushed to deny they happened. They instead claimed Biden didn't ever says sending tanks to Ukraine would be an indication that World War 3 was imminent. However, Biden directly said sending "offensive equipment," including "planes and tanks" would be "called World War 3."

The biggest promise made by the Biden administration is that the US will not go to war with Russia.

The US has been backing Ukraine with security assistance in the form of military equipment, armaments, and munitions. 

These include: 8,000 Javelin and 1,600 Stingers, 160 howitzers and 38 High Mobility Artillery Rocket systems, 109 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and tanks, more than one million rounds of artillery ammunition; more than 100,000 rounds of 125mm tank ammunition; and 100,000 rounds of small arms ammunition.

The US has also provided helicopters, Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels, and counter-UAV systems and equipment.

The US has provided humanitarian assistance; democracy, human rights, and anti-corruption assistance. The latter includes "$220 million for Ukraine to support media freedom and enable Ukrainian media outlets to continue operating during the war, to counter disinformation, increase the safety and security of activists and vulnerable groups, strengthen democratic and anti-corruption institutions, and support accountability for human rights abuses and violations of international law."

Additional funding has been given for diplomatic initiatives to hold Russia "accountable;" to engage in economic sanctions against Russia; and to provide energy assistance and security along with economic assistance.

This has been a multi-billion dollar investment in helping Ukraine fend off Russia, and Biden has promised that the US would see it through to the end. But what that end looks like, or how it would be defined, is not only unclear but has not been addressed by an administration that continues to break its promises to the American people.