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Strengthening Ukraine's Hand to Hasten Diplomatic Resolution to War
“Diplomacy is the only way to definitively end Russia’s war of aggression [against Ukraine] and to create a path to peace that is both just and durable,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, quoting Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky. “Clearly, President [Vladimir] Putin has no genuine interest in diplomacy right now,” he said.
“Here’s what he said just a few weeks ago: Unless and until Ukraine accepts ‘the new territorial realities’ – in quotation marks – there is nothing to even talk about. In other words, Ukraine and the world must somehow acquiesce to President Putin’s land grab. That should be a non-starter for every country in the world that cares about the UN charter, and preserving international peace and security.”
Clearly, nearly one year into Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine, it’s critical the United States and its Allies and partners maintain and increase support for Ukraine, said Secretary Blinken.
“We’ve calibrated our assistance to meet Ukraine’s changing needs from the outset of the Russian invasion, and that’s exactly what we’ll continue to do,” he said. “In total, the United States has committed nearly $30 billion since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. And our Allies and partners have provided more than $13 billion in military assistance over the past year and tens of billions more in humanitarian and economic support. The contributions that Europe, writ large, has made to this effort are very significant and making a profound difference.”
This is the time to double down, to help Ukraine prove to Vladimir Putin that with the sustained help of its partners, Ukraine will not go down in defeat to his war machine, and that the only way out of this conflict is through diplomacy.
This is already evident from the fact that “Putin’s war continues to be a strategic failure,” said Secretary Blinken. “He’s failed to overthrow the democratically elected government of Ukraine, to subsume Ukraine into Russia, or to break the will of its people. He’s lost the battles for Kyiv, for Kharkiv, for Kherson. His military is suffering staggering losses on the battlefield, and he’s failed to weaken our [NATO] Alliance and what it stands for.”
“The best way to hasten prospects for real diplomacy is to keep tilting the battlefield in Ukraine’s favor,” said Secretary Blinken. “This will help ensure Ukraine has the strongest possible hand to play at a negotiating table when one emerges.”