Russia has ‘failed’ to accomplish its objectives in Ukraine: US

Washington, Mar 23 (PTI) Russia has “manifestly failed” to accomplish its three major goals through the country’s “brutal” invasion of Ukraine, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said.

On February 24, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities. Sullivan told reporters that Russia intended to accomplish three basic objectives in launching its unprovoked attack against Ukraine: first, to subjugate Ukraine; second, to enhance Russian power and prestige; and third, to divide and weaken the West. “Russia has thus far manifestly failed to accomplish all three objectives. In fact, it has thus far achieved the opposite,” Sullivan said on Tuesday.

“On the first, the brave citizens of Ukraine are refusing to submit. They’re fighting back. They’re defending their homes. They’re defending their cities. And although Russia may take more territory in these brutal military operations, it will never take the country away from the Ukrainian people,” he said. “On the second, Russian power and prestige have been badly depleted. The Russian military has dramatically underperformed. The Russian economy has been rocked by powerful sanctions. The Russian high-tech and defence sectors are being choked off from key inputs. And Russia is a pariah in the international community,” he added. “On the third, the nations of the free world are more united, more determined, and more purposeful than at any point in recent memory,” he said.

Since President Joe Biden and the US began warning the world of impending Russian aggression back in November, the US has clearly and consistently pursued three lines of effort, Sullivan said.

“First, help Ukraine defend itself by supplying weapons and military equipment; second, impose severe and escalating economic costs on Russia through the application of unprecedented sanctions in close coordination with Allies and partners in Europe, the Indo-Pacific, and other parts of the world; and third, fortify NATO and the Western Alliance by enhancing our force posture on the eastern flank and making our allies more resilient against other forms of Russian aggression,” he said.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US and its allies were quick to impose sweeping sanctions on the Russian economy, as well as financial penalties on the Russian president and elites in his inner circle. The war between Russia and Ukraine has pushed more than 3.5 million people to flee the country, according to the United Nations, as Russian forces continue to besiege and bombard Ukrainian towns and cities.

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