Biden rises to the moment as Ukraine makes battle against autocracy real

A year ago no one foresaw a Russian invasion as the president's top issue but US approval for his handling of the crisis is rising

When Joe Biden made the struggle between democracy and autocracy the lodestar of his presidency, it was widely assumed that his principal antagonists would be China's Xi Jinping abroad and America's own Donald Trump at home.

But it is Vladimir Putin of Russia who has made the contest more immediate and literal than anyone expected, launching a bloody invasion of Ukraine that threatens to bring down a new iron curtain in Europe.