On Tuesday’s broadcast of NBC’s “Today,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to a question on how we ended up having to send cluster munitions to Ukraine because we’re essentially out of ammunition by stating that Russia’s attempts to topple Ukraine’s government and take over the whole country failed.
Co-host Savannah Guthrie asked, “I understand the argument saying, look, this is a temporary solution, this is a backstop because Ukraine is running low on munitions. However, this war has been going on for 500 days, the West has sent billions of dollars to Ukraine — how do you find yourself in this position where you’re essentially out of ammo and having to resort to this highly controversial weapon that is banned by many, many countries, including allies?”
Blinken responded, “Well, first, take a step back. Sixteen months ago, Russia was on the doorsteps of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. It was working to take over the entire country, to topple its government, to erase Ukraine from the map, to end its independence, to subsume Ukraine into Russia. That has failed, and it’s failed because of the incredible courage of the Ukrainian people. It’s also failed because of the very strong support from country after country. Everything has gotten pushed to the east and the south. Ukraine’s working to get more of its land back that Russia has taken from it. We’re in the fight with them, and it’s vitally important that they do everything they can to succeed. But, in terms of what Russia was trying to do, it’s already failed. And now we want to make sure that Ukraine can do as much as it possibly can to recover territory that remains in Russian hands.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.