There was never the remotest chance that the threat of sanctions would deter Putin from invading.

It didn’t help when Biden seemed to suggest he wouldn’t necessarily penalise a ‘minor’ incursion.

The only thing that would have made Putin think twice was the presence in Ukraine of significant military hardware, but the Biden administration slowed deliveries of arms to Kyiv.

Last year, it removed sanctions on companies building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, designed by Russia and Germany to bypass Ukraine. What’s more, Biden discovered that China and Russia are hand in glove after he tried to get President Xi Jinping to dissuade Putin from invading Ukraine.

The naivety would beggar belief if Biden was not manifestly in his second childhood.