Washington. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Sunday that NATO members have the go-ahead to send fighter jets to Ukraine as the US and its allies continue their efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against a Russian invasion.
“It’s getting the green light,” Blinken told Face the Nation when asked if the Polish government, a NATO member, could send fighter jets to Ukraine. “In fact, we are discussing right now with our Polish friends what we could do to meet their needs, if in fact they decide to provide these fighters to the Ukrainians. What we can do? How can we help make sure that they get something to fill up the planes that are handed over to the Ukrainians?”
A White House spokesman told CBS News that the Biden administration is evaluating opportunities it could provide to refuel planes to Poland if it decides to transfer the planes to Ukraine, but noted that the decision raises several questions, including whether how aircraft can be transferred from Poland to Ukraine.
Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, told Face the Nation that she hoped Ukraine would receive the fighter jets from Poland “as soon as possible.”
“We are working with our Americans, especially friends and allies, on a steady supply of all munitions, as well as anti-aircraft, anti-tank and aircraft, to be able to effectively defend our country,” she said.
Ukraine needs more fighter jets ‘as soon as possible’, says ambassador 06:49
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine evoked worldwide support from the Ukrainian people and a unanimous response from the West. The US and European allies have provided Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid and imposed wide-ranging sanctions against major Russian financial institutions, Russian oligarchs and high-ranking officials in Moscow, including President Vladimir Putin himself and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as part of efforts to shrink the country out of the global financial system. . Putin said on Saturday that the sanctions “look like a war.”
Blinken, who was in Eastern Europe meeting with US allies, said NATO and G7 members are “working together” to increase pressure on Russia, including through additional sanctions to be imposed in the coming days.
“The impact of sanctions is already devastating,” the Secretary of State said. “The ruble is in free fall. Their stock market has been closed for almost a week. We are seeing a recession in Russia. Consumers can’t buy basic products because companies are fleeing Russia, so it’s having a big impact. “
However, Blinken noted that Putin is “doubling down on this aggression against Ukraine.”
“I think we have to be prepared, unfortunately tragically, for this to go on for a while,” he said.
Markarova said Ukraine is grateful to the West for its continued support, but suggested that the international community should react faster because the Russians are “stepping up” their attacks.
“After 11 days, it became clear that we all needed to move faster,” she said. Ukraine, she continued, did not provoke the Russian attack.
“We did not pose a threat to Russia, unless being a peaceful democracy and just living peacefully in your own country is not a threat,” she said. “And if this is so, then it is not only Ukraine, then Europe and the whole world are not safe.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday took part in a Zoom call with US lawmakers, during which he urged them to provide his country with military aircraft and impose an embargo on Russian oil. He also reiterated to lawmakers that this could be the last time they see him alive, echoing a warning he issued to European leaders.
Asked if the US was developing a contingency plan to support the Ukrainian government if something happened to Zelenskiy, Blinken praised his leadership and indicated that Ukrainian officials were ready.
“Ukrainians have plans that I won’t talk about or go into any detail about to make sure that somehow there is what we would call ‘government continuity’,” he said. “And let me stop there.
The Secretary of State was confident that even if Russia’s war in Ukraine continued for months, the Ukrainians would win.
“Winning a battle is not the same as winning a war. Taking the city is not the same as winning the hearts and minds of Ukrainians,” he said. “What they have demonstrated with extraordinary courage is that they will not obey the will of Vladimir Putin and be under the heel of Russia. So if it takes another week, another month, another year, it will happen and I know how soon it will end. But the question is, can we end this sooner rather than later, with less suffering in the future? This is where the problem is”.
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