Department Press Briefing with Spokesperson Ned Price at the Department of State, March 10, 2022.
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – The Russian Government’s unprovoked, unjustified, and brutal invasion of Ukraine continues to dominate the attention of the world. It was in this context that Secretary Blinken traveled to Europe, where he worked in service over the past few days of two primary objectives.
First, to ensure that we continue to do everything we possibly can to support Ukraine, its people, and its territorial integrity in every way we can. He stood with his Ukrainian counterpart on Ukrainian soil and reaffirmed that support. And we spoke to our humanitarian system – assistance for Ukrainians in Ukraine and for more – and for the more than 2 million Ukrainians who’ve been forced to flee their homes because of this Kremlin aggression.
Second, to ensure that we are sending a clear signal to Moscow that it will continue to pay a steep price and that our commitment to the defense of our allies is ironclad. It is clear that the transatlantic partnership is united in strengthening our security assistance to Ukraine, united in increasing our assistance to the people of Ukraine, and united in our efforts to impose costs on the Kremlin for waging this war of ongoing – this ongoing war of choice.
Putin’s military plan to quickly capture Ukraine, it is clear now, has failed. So he’s now turning to a strategy of laying waste to population centers to try to break the will of the people of Ukraine, something he will not be able to do. Just yesterday we saw reports of Russian air strikes hitting a maternity hospital in Mariupol. We’ve all seen the abhorrent images from that strike, and the fact that we would even need to put the terms “maternity hospital” and “Russian strike” in the same sentence speaks to the level of brutality that the Kremlin is inflicting on the people of Ukraine.
Civilian deaths are multiplying, as is the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Russian forces now encircle multiple Ukrainian cities after having destroyed much of their critical infrastructure, leaving people without water, without electricity, without access to food and medicine. Putin’s relentless bombardment, including of civilians trying to flee for their lives, prevents people from safely escaping the inhumane conditions that the Kremlin has created. We continue to call on the Russian Government to allow civilians to safely depart the cities and towns of Ukraine that are besieged by Russian forces.
Russia’s brutality will make effective long-term control of Ukraine impossible. The Ukrainian people have made clear that they won’t stand for it. Putin can take a town. He can capture a city. But it is already clear that he will fail in his effort to take the country of Ukraine and its people.
We will continue to back the people of Ukraine in their fight for their country, through security, economic, and humanitarian assistance, and by uniting the international community to hold Putin accountable through devastating sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and other measures. As Vice President Harris noted today, the United States Congress has committed $13.6 billion in humanitarian aid and security assistance to support Ukraine and its people.
We’ve imposed massive consequences on Putin and his cronies for their aggression. The severity of these unprecedented measures is already having a dramatic impact. The ruble has gone through the floor. It is close to worthless, literally worth less than a penny. Russia’s credit rating is a junk status. Its stock market remains closed, and we’ve seen more than 300 companies halt or exit their operations in the Russian market.
Putin could choose to cut his losses, extricate himself from this strategic morass by seeking to negotiate in good faith a diplomatic agreement with Ukraine. President Zelenskyy, for his part, has expressed interest in that, and we have told the Ukrainian Government in no uncertain terms that we stand ready to support any diplomacy it wishes to pursue. But, as we’ve always said, we will not push them into concessions. Instead, the Kremlin continues to spread outright lies, such as the allegation that the United States and Ukraine are conducting chemical and biological weapons activities in Ukraine, and their baseless claim that bombing a maternity hospital is quote/unquote “fake news.”
This is from a government that is now using many measures to hide the truth from its own people. The Kremlin viciously targets journalists, and floods the internet and airwaves with disinformation, both around the world and at home in Russia. Many people in Russia have no idea what their government is doing right now in Ukraine. They may think they’re liberating Ukraine, not destroying it. They don’t know the extent to which their fellow countrymen, their husbands, their sons, their brothers, are coming home in body bags, if the Russian Government bothers to bring them home at all.
The response to the Kremlin’s war has been unity among world leaders, in Europe, in people gathering around the world to protest President Putin’s war of choice, including thousands of people in Russia and Belarus coming out to protest peacefully.
In the end, we know that Russia will be weaker, not stronger, for launching this war, and already the international community, including NATO, is stronger and more purposeful than it has been in any recent history.
Before we take your questions, one additional note at the top. Tomorrow, on Friday, March 11th, the State Department has the honor of hosting the Eighth United States-African Union Commission High Level Dialogue. These regular meetings are important to advance cooperation between the United States and the African Union Commission and its member states on shared global and regional priorities.
The High Level Dialogue brings together U.S. Government and African Union Commission stakeholders to advance our shared global priorities of democracy, climate and energy, and global health security, as well as U.S.-Africa collaboration on trade and investment, peace and security, and governance as well.
The United States has shown a longstanding commitment to enhancing global health security via our partnership with the African Union Commission and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We will underscore our expanding engagement by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the African CDC during this Dialogue.
We are pleased to welcome AUC Chairperson Moussa Faki, accompanying commissioners, and the entire delegation.
The United States has an unwavering and longstanding commitment to Africa. We are proud of our partnership with the commission and the people and governments of Africa. We look forward to constructive engagement this week to further our common objectives and to the steady work ahead.