Blinken: Russian Invasion Will End with Independent Ukraine, No Vladimir Putin

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday on CNN’s “Situation Room” that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will end with an independent Ukraine and no Vladimir Putin.

Blinken said, “I am confident of, first of all, there will be an independent Ukraine a lot longer than a Vladimir Putin. One way or the other, Ukraine will be there, and at some point, Putin won’t. The real question is how much death and destruction is brought by Russia’s aggression in the meantime. That’s what we are working as hard as we can to limit to stop to put an end to this war of choice that Russia is committing. We’re doing that through the support we are providing Ukraine every single day. We are doing that by the pressure we are exerting against Russia every single day. My hope is we can end this sooner rather than later so that death and destruction doesn’t continue. I can tell you how it will end, with an independent Ukraine and somehow without Vladimir Putin.”

Blitzer said, “So what is your message to Vladimir Putin?”

Blinken said, “Mr. Putin, end this war, stop the war you are committing. End the aggression which is unjustified unprovoked. We looked over many months of giving president Putin appropriate off-ramps to end this before the aggression since the aggression started. Unfortunately, each and every time, he’s pressed the accelerator. It’s time to stop with the accelerator. It’s time to stop the war.”

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