Blinken says the US provided ‘a lot of weapons’ to Ukraine before conflict with Russia
Antony Blinken has acknowledged that the US provided “a lot of weapons” to Kiev in the lead-up to the conflict with Moscow. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has acknowledged that the United States supplied "a lot of weapons" to Ukraine in the months leading up to the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev that began in February 2022.
During an interview on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, which aired on Saturday, Blinken stated that the US anticipated the conflict and aimed to prepare Kiev for the impending hostilities.
“Starting in September and then again in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves – things like Stingers, Javelins that they could use,” he noted.
According to him, this weaponry has been “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map.”
The perspective expressed by Blinken regarding Moscow's intentions contrasts sharply with the military objectives articulated by Russian leadership, which originally included the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as securing a neutral status for Kiev and abandoning its NATO aspirations.
Over time, this list of objectives evolved, particularly following the incorporation of four previously Ukrainian regions—Kherson, Zaporozhye, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics—into Russia. Moscow has reiterated that any potential negotiations with Kiev would require the latter to recognize the "realities on the ground" and withdraw from these new Russian territories.
Blinken’s comments were not well received in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik remarked that the revelations diminished the prevailing narrative of "unprovoked Russian aggression." He questioned, “Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” in a post on Telegram.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
During an interview on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, which aired on Saturday, Blinken stated that the US anticipated the conflict and aimed to prepare Kiev for the impending hostilities.
“Starting in September and then again in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves – things like Stingers, Javelins that they could use,” he noted.
According to him, this weaponry has been “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map.”
The perspective expressed by Blinken regarding Moscow's intentions contrasts sharply with the military objectives articulated by Russian leadership, which originally included the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as securing a neutral status for Kiev and abandoning its NATO aspirations.
Over time, this list of objectives evolved, particularly following the incorporation of four previously Ukrainian regions—Kherson, Zaporozhye, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics—into Russia. Moscow has reiterated that any potential negotiations with Kiev would require the latter to recognize the "realities on the ground" and withdraw from these new Russian territories.
Blinken’s comments were not well received in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik remarked that the revelations diminished the prevailing narrative of "unprovoked Russian aggression." He questioned, “Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” in a post on Telegram.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
