Blinken warns Moscow-Kyiv war could last ‘some time’; vows to escalate Russian sanctions

Amid ongoing conflict between Kyiv and Moscow, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday pledged to provide more aid to Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia through sanctions. Speaking to CNN, Blinken warned that Russia held a military advantage that western allies are finding hard to counter and the war was set to last “some time”. He stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has the ability to “keep grinding things” against Ukrainians. 

“Vladimir Putin has, unfortunately, the capacity with the sheer manpower he has in Ukraine and overmatch he has, the ability to keep grinding things down against incredibly resilient and courageous Ukrainians. I think we have to be prepared for this to last for some time,” Blinken told CNN.

Further, speaking from Chisinau in Moldova, the top American diplomat emphasised on the destruction being perpetrated under Putin in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. “Just winning a battle is not winning a war, and just taking a city does not mean taking the hearts and minds of the Ukrainian people. On the contrary, he is destined to lose,” Blinken said. He also told the media outlet that the Ukrainian people will not allow themselves to be subjugated to Putin or to Russia’s rule “but it could take some time, and meanwhile the suffering is real and it’s terrible”. 

Blinken said that he has met with refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He stated that Washington is doing everything to bring this to an end as quickly as possible. “But this may still go on for a while,” he added.

Blinken says US adding sanctions against Russia ‘virtually every day’

When pressed on US sanctions on Russia, Antony Blinken defended the White House’s comparative lag in application compared to the EU allies and its failure to cut off Russian imports of oil by the US. He said that the US is adding to sanctions virtually every day. Blinken informed that he had spoken to US President Joe Biden on Saturday and members of the cabinet on the issue of oil supply. 

“We are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a co-ordinated way at the prospect of banning Russian oil while making sure there is an appropriate supply of oil on world markets,” the yop US diplomat said. 

Separately, speaking to NBC News, Blinken insisted that the US would continue to add to Ukraine with “security assistance”. However, he also added that the US would not enforce a Ukrainian no-fly zone or put the US in “direct conflict” with Russia. “We’re trying to end this war in Ukraine, not start a larger one,” he said.

(Image: AP)