Russia and Ukraine: the strong statements of the US Secretary of Defense after a visit to kyiv
Austin and Blinken met Sunday with the Ukrainian president.
Some harsh statements from one of the highest-ranking US military.
The defense secretary of that country, Lloyd Austin, assured this Monday during a press conference in Poland that he hopes to see Russia “weakened”, so that it cannot repeat in other countries what it is doing with Ukraine.
“We want Ukraine to remain a sovereign country, a democratic country capable of protecting its sovereign territory,” the retired four-star general said.
“We want to see Russia weakened to the point where it can’t do the kinds of things it has done by invading Ukraine,” he added.
According to the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, Austin’s comments about a weakened Russia are “unusually strong” for a US secretary of defense.
“It is one thing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression and quite another to talk about weakening Russia’s capabilities,” Landale said.
In an apparent response to Austin’s remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of trying to “divide Russian society and destroy Russia from within,” an argument he has used repeatedly over the years.
Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv on Sunday, marking the highest-level visit to Ukraine by US officials since the invasion began. more than two months ago.
The meeting between the representatives of the US and Ukrainian governments, which lasted more than three hours, comes as Russia intensifies its military campaign in the south and east of the country.
What else did he say?
The head of the Pentagon assured that his country believes that Ukraine could win the conflict with “the right team” and the “right support”.
He also announced that his country will allocate another US$713 million in military aid to Ukraine and other European nations.
As he explained, of that amount, almost US$332 million will be allocated to kyiv.
With this amount, the total security assistance provided to Ukraine by the US since the invasion began amounts to more than $3.7 billion.
Zelensky has been pleading with Western leaders to increase the flow of military equipment for weeks, promising that his forces can outmatch Russia’s military if given fighter jets and other weaponry.
Last week, the United States confirmed that it had supplied Ukrainian troops with howitzer artillery guns and anti-artillery radar for the first time.
Russia’s ambassador to Washington announced that his country had sent a diplomatic note demanding an end to US arms supplies to Ukraine.
return of diplomats
Blinken announced that some US diplomatic personnel will begin returning to Ukraine starting next week.
They are expected to initially settle in Lviv in the west, while having a longer-term plan to reopen the US embassy in the capital kyiv.
President Joe Biden intends to nominate Bridget Brinka career diplomat, as ambassador to Ukraine, a post that has been vacant for more than two years.
Russia is believed to have suffered considerable losses.
Blinken also defended the US diplomatic approach, claiming that the alliance of Western countries brought together by Biden had put pressure on the Putin government.
“The strategy that we have implemented, the massive support for Ukraine, the massive pressure against Russia, the solidarity with more than 30 countries that are involved in these efforts, is having real results,” Blinken said.
“And we are seeing that when it comes to Russia’s war goals, Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding. A sovereign and independent Ukraine will be on the scene much longer than Vladimir Putin,” Blinken added.
Analysis by Jonathan Beale, BBC Defense Correspondent
President Biden has always made it clear that the United States will not intervene directly in the Ukraine war and will not send American troops to join the battle.
But the truth is that the US is getting more and more involved. And that has been highlighted by the words of the Secretary of Defense.
The United States has dramatically increased arms supplies to Ukraine in recent weeks. Despite Russian warnings, it is clear that it will send more.
The words of. Austin stress that the United States is not a bystander in this war. The United States wants to see Russia defeated.
More than that, he wants to see Russia’s military machine reduced to such an extent that it cannot threaten any other European ally in the future.
The fear, shared by NATO allies, is that any kind of Ukraine defeat will only embolden Putin’s ambitions.
Austin has now made it clear that the US has its own strategic objectives for this war, even if it theoretically does not participate.
The goal is to stop Putin and weaken Russia’s military to such an extent that it will no longer be able to threaten other nations.
To some extent that has already happened.
Military experts already believe that it will take years for Russia to recover from its military losses. That could also send a signal to another nation the United States is increasingly concerned about: China.
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Austin and Blinken met Sunday with the Ukrainian president.
Some harsh statements from one of the highest-ranking US military.
The defense secretary of that country, Lloyd Austin, assured this Monday during a press conference in Poland that he hopes to see Russia “weakened”, so that it cannot repeat in other countries what it is doing with Ukraine.
“We want Ukraine to remain a sovereign country, a democratic country capable of protecting its sovereign territory,” the retired four-star general said.
“We want to see Russia weakened to the point where it can’t do the kinds of things it has done by invading Ukraine,” he added.
According to the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, Austin’s comments about a weakened Russia are “unusually strong” for a US secretary of defense.
“It is one thing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression and quite another to talk about weakening Russia’s capabilities,” Landale said.
In an apparent response to Austin’s remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of trying to “divide Russian society and destroy Russia from within,” an argument he has used repeatedly over the years.
Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in kyiv on Sunday, marking the highest-level visit to Ukraine by US officials since the invasion began. more than two months ago.
The meeting between the representatives of the US and Ukrainian governments, which lasted more than three hours, comes as Russia intensifies its military campaign in the south and east of the country.
What else did he say?
The head of the Pentagon assured that his country believes that Ukraine could win the conflict with “the right team” and the “right support”.
He also announced that his country will allocate another US$713 million in military aid to Ukraine and other European nations.
As he explained, of that amount, almost US$332 million will be allocated to kyiv.
With this amount, the total security assistance provided to Ukraine by the US since the invasion began amounts to more than $3.7 billion.
Zelensky has been pleading with Western leaders to increase the flow of military equipment for weeks, promising that his forces can outmatch Russia’s military if given fighter jets and other weaponry.
Last week, the United States confirmed that it had supplied Ukrainian troops with howitzer artillery guns and anti-artillery radar for the first time.
Russia’s ambassador to Washington announced that his country had sent a diplomatic note demanding an end to US arms supplies to Ukraine.
return of diplomats
Blinken announced that some US diplomatic personnel will begin returning to Ukraine starting next week.
They are expected to initially settle in Lviv in the west, while having a longer-term plan to reopen the US embassy in the capital kyiv.
President Joe Biden intends to nominate Bridget Brinka career diplomat, as ambassador to Ukraine, a post that has been vacant for more than two years.
Russia is believed to have suffered considerable losses.
Blinken also defended the US diplomatic approach, claiming that the alliance of Western countries put together by Biden had put pressure on the Putin government.
“The strategy that we have implemented, the massive support for Ukraine, the massive pressure against Russia, the solidarity with more than 30 countries that are involved in these efforts, is having real results,” Blinken said.
“And we are seeing that when it comes to Russia’s war goals, Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding. A sovereign and independent Ukraine will be on the scene much longer than Vladimir Putin,” Blinken added.
Analysis by Jonathan Beale, BBC Defense Correspondent
President Biden has always made it clear that the United States will not intervene directly in the Ukraine war and will not send American troops to join the battle.
But the truth is that the US is getting more and more involved. And that has been highlighted by the words of the Secretary of Defense.
The United States has dramatically increased arms supplies to Ukraine in recent weeks. Despite Russian warnings, it is clear that it will send more.
The words of. Austin stress that the United States is not a bystander in this war. The United States wants to see Russia defeated.
More than that, he wants to see Russia’s military machine reduced to such an extent that it cannot threaten any other European ally in the future.
The fear, shared by NATO allies, is that any kind of Ukraine defeat will only embolden Putin’s ambitions.
Austin has now made it clear that the US has its own strategic objectives for this war, even if it theoretically does not participate.
The goal is to stop Putin and weaken Russia’s military to such an extent that it will no longer be able to threaten other nations.
To some extent that has already happened.
Military experts already believe that it will take years for Russia to recover from its military losses. That could also send a signal to another nation the United States is increasingly concerned about: China.
Now you can receive notifications from BBC World. Download the new version of our app and activate it so you don’t miss out on our best content.
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