US supplied Ukraine with ‘a lot of weapons’ before conflict with Russia, says Blinken
Antony Blinken has acknowledged that the US provided “a lot of weapons” to Kiev in the months leading up to the conflict between Kiev and Moscow. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has acknowledged that Washington supplied “a lot of weapons” to Ukraine in the months leading up to the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev that began in February 2022.
Speaking on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, which aired on Saturday, Blinken noted that the US anticipated the conflict and sought to ensure that Kiev was “prepared” for it.
“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 stated.
According to Blinken, the supplied weaponry has been “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as in stopping “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map.”
In contrast, the intentions attributed to Moscow by Blinken diverge significantly from the objectives articulated by Russian leadership regarding their military operation. Initially, the goals included the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, alongside demands for Kiev to adopt a neutral status and abandon any aspirations to join NATO.
As time progressed, the objectives expanded following the incorporation of four previously Ukrainian regions—Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics—into Russia. Moscow has persistently stated that any potential negotiations with Kiev would necessitate acknowledgment of the “realities on the ground” and the withdrawal of troops from the newly acquired Russian territories.
Blinken’s comments were not well received in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik remarked that these revelations might weaken the commonly held narrative of “unprovoked Russian aggression.”
“Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” Miroshnik queried in a post on Telegram.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
Speaking on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, which aired on Saturday, Blinken noted that the US anticipated the conflict and sought to ensure that Kiev was “prepared” for it.
“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 stated.
According to Blinken, the supplied weaponry has been “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as in stopping “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map.”
In contrast, the intentions attributed to Moscow by Blinken diverge significantly from the objectives articulated by Russian leadership regarding their military operation. Initially, the goals included the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, alongside demands for Kiev to adopt a neutral status and abandon any aspirations to join NATO.
As time progressed, the objectives expanded following the incorporation of four previously Ukrainian regions—Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics—into Russia. Moscow has persistently stated that any potential negotiations with Kiev would necessitate acknowledgment of the “realities on the ground” and the withdrawal of troops from the newly acquired Russian territories.
Blinken’s comments were not well received in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik remarked that these revelations might weaken the commonly held narrative of “unprovoked Russian aggression.”
“Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” Miroshnik queried in a post on Telegram.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
