“Sanctions will not be enough until the Russian boots are off the Ukrainian soil,” Dmytro Kuleba told CNN’s Jake Tapper on The Lead.
Kuleba, asked by Tapper what he thinks of Putin’s intentions, said Tuesday that “Putin’s ultimate goal is the destruction of Ukraine.”
“He’s not interested in parts of Ukraine. He’s not even interested in keeping the whole country under his control. He wants the idea of the Ukrainian state to fail,” the Foreign Minister continued.
Koliba met with Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington on Tuesday. He also spoke to State Department reporters today, as well as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Blinken said Putin’s remarks on Monday emphasized that “his plan has always been to invade Ukraine” and that Russia’s problems with NATO are “an excuse to hide the fact that what is at stake is President Putin’s view that the Ukraine is not a sovereign country”.
During his speech at the Foreign Ministry, Kuleba said that Ukraine had no plans to evacuate Mariupol and Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine on Putin’s orders. He said his nation has two plans: diplomacy, and if that fails it will fight to defend itself.
“Plan A is to use every diplomatic tool to deter Russia and prevent further escalation,” he said. “And if that fails, Plan B is to fight for every inch of our land, in every town and village — of course, fight until we win.”
When asked by Tapper later Tuesday about getting his message across to Americans and asking why they should care, Kuleba said in part, “If Putin is successful in Ukraine, then other players around the world who will make the rules.” want to change that the United States want to bypass, you will. We see that it is possible – that the West is unable to stand up for what it stands for.”
–
–
“Angry humble problem solver. bacon attorney. Freelance pop culture lover. Amateur zombie aholic.”
—-
–
