Ukraine was dropped in February. Biden was asked by Putin to intervene and give Ukrainians the ‘Minsk’ ultimatum around February 20th. Last-minute meetings took place between Lavrov and Blinken. Biden declined to intervene. This meant that America formally signalled to Russia that it did not see Ukraine as a vital strategic national interest. Putin was then free to act. Globally, the USA sees Europe as a 'secondary theatre' with SCS as the main enchilada.