Pompeo: U.S. Failed to Do Enough to Deter Russian Aggression in 2014
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged that the United States failed to do enough in 2014 to prevent Russia's war against Ukraine, saying that the lack of decisive action at the time contributed to the erosion of Western deterrence and paved the way for future aggression.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to European Pravda.
Speaking at the second annual Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa, Pompeo delivered a candid assessment of Western policy in the wake of Russia’s initial invasion. “I regret that more wasn’t done in 2014. I regret that more wasn’t done in 2022. We lost our ability to deter,” he said. “Now the task is to restore stability.”
Reflecting on his involvement in the Minsk peace negotiations, Pompeo emphasized that the talks lacked enforcement mechanisms. “We sat at that table many times, but there was no hammer, no real leverage,” he said. Although the geopolitical context has shifted, he argued that many of the issues discussed during the Minsk process remain unresolved. “If you look at the documents negotiated back then, they are strikingly similar to what’s being discussed today.”
Pompeo warned against repeating past mistakes by treating temporary pauses in Russian aggression as a return to normalcy. “When Putin sets down his weapons, even momentarily, that is not a signal to return to Russian gas or to business as usual,” he cautioned.
Rejecting the notion that Ukraine is merely a pawn in great-power politics, Pompeo stated firmly: “I don’t believe anyone thinks we can sacrifice Ukraine and somehow get peace in return. That’s not how this works.”
He also criticized elements within the Republican Party who, he said, have taken positions on Ukraine that contradict America’s strategic interests. Pompeo expressed confidence that democratic values would ultimately prevail: “In the end, I believe those values will win.”
Pompeo served as Secretary of State from 2018 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. His tenure included the issuance of the 2018 “Crimea Declaration,” which reaffirmed that the U.S. would never recognize Russia’s claim to the occupied peninsula, calling it a blatant violation of international law.
His remarks come amid renewed controversy over the current Trump administration’s stance on Crimea. In April 2025, reports emerged that U.S. officials had presented Ukraine with a one-page “final proposal” in Paris, allegedly signaling a willingness to recognize Russian control over Crimea as part of a broader peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy swiftly rejected any such notion, reiterating Ukraine’s uncompromising position: Crimea remains Ukrainian territory.
Read more on The Gaze: Why Recognizing Crimea as Russian Contradicts Decades of American Diplomacy