Riho Terras served as the Chief of Estonian Defence for seven years from 2011 until 2018. He is now an MEP and has consistently urged Western leaders to send more heavy weapons to Ukraine. Mr Terras told Express.co.uk that Joe Biden sent the wrong signals to Moscow, thereby encouraging the Russian dictator to invade his Slavic neighbours.
He said: “Well, I have a problem with Joe Biden because in my opinion the Americans have caused this war.
“They have given signals to Putin – ‘Do whatever you want with Ukraine and we will stand aside’.
“They hope it is like Georgia, where there is a slight conflict, a change of regime – now they are comfortable, Europeans are comfortable, for Russians the problem is solved.
“Unfortunately, the point is the Ukrainians didn’t get that memo.”
Mr Biden has made it explicitly clear that his government is not prepared to send US troops to fight in Ukraine.
He also ruled out implementing no-fly zones to help protect Ukrainians from Moscow’s forces.
The US president argued such a move could bring NATO and Russia into direct conflict and trigger World War 3.
The former Delaware Senator has, however, been a vocal critic of the Russian despot.
He accused his Russian counterpart of being a war criminal and publicly stated he didn’t think Putin could stay in power anymore.
The Estonian MEP believes such statements are counterproductive if they are not backed up with firm deeds.
He explained: “Every time Biden says something that is not backed by actions is rather counterproductive.
“Calling Putin a butcher without sending a massive amount of weapons to Ukraine is not the right thing to do.
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“But I hope they will now learn the lessons and start to send more and more military equipment to Ukraine.”
The Biden Administration has been the biggest contributor of arms to Kyiv among fellow NATO member states.
The US had pledged $4.77 billion in weapons by the end of March, according to data from Statista.
The weapons delivered to Ukraine’s army have included Javelin anti-tank missiles, Switchblade combat drones and 90 howitzers.
Lloyd Austin, the US Defence Secretary, announced on Monday (April 25) a further $713 million package of military aid for Ukraine after visiting Kyiv over the weekend.
He also bluntly said that the US goal was to “weaken” Russia so that it could never again launch any more wars.
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The grim discoveries of civilian massacres by Russian troops in Ukraine has intensified calls to prosecute the Russian leader for war crimes.
Mr Terras believes Russians must take collective responsibility for both the war and the horrific crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians.
He said: “What I hate to hear is this is Putin’s war. No – Putin is not shooting and raping women on the streets of Bucha.
“They are the Russian guys, the Russian people who send their sons to war and support and back Putin’s policies – so it is Russia who is doing it and not Putin.”