The Hill
Blinken on Ukraine war: ‘Russia has already failed’
Sarakshi Rai – April 25, 2022
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Poland on Monday that “when it comes to Russia’s war aims, Russia is failing” and Ukraine is succeeding.
Blinken said that the Kremlin’s main objective was to “subjugate Ukraine” and to take away its sovereignty and its independence. He asserted that the country has failed to achieve those goals.
He added that Russia “sought to assert the power of its military and its economy” but said that international observers “of course are seeing just the opposite.”
Blinken, along with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, shared their remarks while in Poland after a visit to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Blinken further took a stab at Putin’s leadership and said the world is seeing “a military that is dramatically underperforming; an economy, as a result of sanctions, as a result of a mass exodus from Russia, that is in shambles.”
The secretary also said Russia had failed to divide the West and NATO, instead drawing members closer in unity against Russia. Countries outside NATO such as Sweden and Finland now seem likely to become members.
While Blinken said that how the war will unfold is unclear, he added that “we do know that a sovereign, independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin is on the scene.”
The remarks come as the Biden administration said it intends to return its diplomats to Ukraine in the coming days, with the goal of reopening the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv over the next few weeks.
Blinken also told reporters that President Biden will nominate Bridget Brink, currently the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.