Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “destined to lose” the war with Ukraine.
Partial transcript as follows:
JAKE TAPPER: So, you say Russian strikes are hitting schools, hitting hospitals, targeting drinking water, targeting electricity grids. I understand that the U.S. doesn’t want to hurt European economies, the U.S. doesn’t want to risk direct military confrontation.But it seems clear that the sanctions that have been implemented so far have not immediately stopped Putin’s advance, that the line that’s being drawn right now is not likely going to be enough to stop him. So, what do you say to the innocent Ukrainian civilians who are saying, why has the West not directly intervene to save them from the slaughter?
BLINKEN: Well, first, Jake, I’m here in Europe working with NATO allies, European Union partners and others, working on, among other things, increasing even more the extraordinary pressure that’s already been exerted on Russia, with unprecedented actions and sanctions that are having a crippling effect on the Russian economy, as well as additional steps that we can take to help our friends in Ukraine, including getting them even more assistance, on top of the historic aid we have gotten them to date and that has been effective. Vladimir Putin has, unfortunately, the capacity, with the sheer manpower that he has in Ukraine and the overmatch that he has, the ability to keep grinding things down, against incredibly resilient and courageous Ukrainians. And I think we have to be prepared for this to last for some time. But just winning a battle is not winning the war. Taking a city does not mean he’s taking the hearts and minds of the Ukrainian people. On the contrary, he is destined to lose. The Ukrainian people have demonstrated that they will not allow themselves to be subjugated to Vladimir Putin or to Russia’s rule. But it could take — it could take some time. And, meanwhile, the suffering is real. It’s terrible. I have met with people who are refugees from Ukraine who have been forced to flee, women and children who are in neighboring countries, the men remaining in Ukraine to fight.
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