a threat overshadowed by russia's aggression toward ukraine. >> look ahead in three to six months, and say did the things we agreed to sit down and try to work out -- did it work? >> reporter: biden sought to reset the russian relationship. now, putin is testing biden and western allies. for all the challenges outside any president's control, one of the most devastating periods of biden's first year was a decision that he made and stands behind. >> i was not going to extend this forever war. and i was not extending a forever exit. >> reporter: the swift fall of the afghanistan government and the chaotic evacuation that followed, including 13 americans killed in a suicide bombing, raised critical questions about competence that biden and his team still struggle to shake six months later. >> i take responsibility for the decision. >> reporter: yet, taking responsibility marks a noted change between biden and his predecessor, who looms even larger one year out of office. that point was clear on the anniversary of the capitol