On Sunday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US would ultimately like to see an “independent” Ukraine and would like to see Russia “weakened and isolated.”
“Our policy is unequivocal that we will do whatever we can to help Ukraine succeed,” Sullivan told NBC’s Meet the Press. He said to achieve that goal, the US will continue to keep arming Ukraine and taking action to hurt Russia’s economy.
“We need to keep giving them support — military support and strong economic sanctions to improve their position, their posture at the negotiating table,” Sullivan said. “But at the end of the day, what we want to see is a free and independent Ukraine, a weakened and isolated Russia, and a stronger, more unified, more determined West.”
While Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in negotiations, the Biden administration has shown little interest in diplomacy and appears to be preparing for a long-term conflict. Last week, Sullivan warned of a “protracted” war as Russia is turning its focus on Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Chairman of the Joint Gen. Mark Milley made similar comments and said the war could last for years. ” I do think this is a very protracted conflict, and I think it’s at least measured in years. I don’t know about a decade, but at least years for sure,” he said.
Since Russia invaded on February 24, the US has pledged $1.7 billion in new military aid for Ukraine. More is coming as NATO officials recently agreed to start sending heavier weapons into the war zone. In a different interview on Sunday, Sullivan said the US would give Ukraine the “weapons it needs.”
“But at the end of the day, what we want to see is a free and independent Ukraine, a weakened and isolated Russia, and a stronger, more unified, more determined West.”
They don’t realise how tone deaf and fascistic they sound when they say this sort of thing
Zionists don’t care. Never did they care
I must agree!!!
Imagining the Russians can only see one way out of this mess. That’s a totally annihilated
United States of America which in turn sees its own annihilation. But when the shit has truly hit the fan and Russia’s economy has tanked and all seems lost in Ukraine. I can only see one outcome. World War 3.
The fact that the rouble has regained its value means the Russia economy hasn’t tanked. There’s only one explanation for this, China has bailed out Russia. So Russia isn’t desperate, so that won’t use nukes, they can keep fighting slowly till they achieve their goals. Meanwhile, this has become a proxy war between America and China.
I think the explanation has nothing to do with China. If you don’t pay your gas bill, the gas gets turned off. The ruble has regained its value because Russia started selling gas in rubles instead of dollars. This undermined Biden’s sanctions and explains why Biden is willing to ask Europe to wean itself from Russia’s energy… even if it causes suffering.
Watch to see if Macron gets reelected. If he falls, it will be because the people of France are already angry about the rising cost of living caused by Biden’s sanctions.
I don’t think that’s enough of an explanation. When you fight a war, your imports go up in a big way as you need a lot of stuff to fight the war with. Russia must have got a lot of foreign loans to support its currency with.
The Russian central bank raised interest rates to 20 percent, in an effort for people to hold onto the ruble they had in banks. And then they basically went to a gold standard. I don’t remember the exact figure but basically (X) amount of ruble equals 1 Oz of gold. Full stop. This coupled with selling resources in ruble makes purchasing their oil by having to first purchase ruble instead of American dollars. This is why they recovered. Reverting to a more sound money policy
They didn’t really go on a “gold standard.” They offered to buy gold at an attractive price in rubles, but not to sell gold at that same price in rubles, as would be the case with a real gold standard. And the specific price point was explicitly advertised as temporary.
That doesn’t mean it was a bad move, but it was more of a casino proposition — “we’ll pay a high enough price in rubles to get you to bet on the ruble” — than a gold standard.
I wonder what’s really been said between Putin and Xi. I have to suspect that Xi has some kind of veto power oover Putin’s use of nukes. If Russia uses nukes and the U.S. relatiates, that’s not very good news for the Chinese (or other living creatures).
Edit to Add: Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not taking the danger of nukes lightly. Far from it. We’re currently in a much more dangerous situation than we were any time during the Cold War (including the Cuban Missile Crisis) because, whatever you think of Cold War leaders, they were definitely a lot more responsible than the fellas (in both D.C. and Moscow) that we’ve got today.
So they want Russia to act like Joe Biden?
As if anyone doubted that. For Russia, being next to a neutral country and NOT being attacked by NATO and the rest of the “civilised world” is an existential issue of survival. For the USA, it is its usual greed, cruelty and bullying others to be top dog. Its success over the decades in bringing peace and harmony to us all can be observed !!!!! Ask Cuba,Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Cambodia, Laos, Yemen, Venezuela , ALL of the Latin American countries ……. and even the US “allies” who are forced to comply with the USA’s vicious sanctions.
Very well said Anaisanesse!
And I’m waiting for someone, anyone, to ask these tools how the US would react under the same circumstances. Existential threat would be screamed from every corner of the MSM.
Right on Wars!
Exactly. I saw Blinken actually explaining that he did not think that NATO was reaaly a problem for Russia because it was defensive and no danger!!!! this is the USA’s top diplomat.
Although the US is better equipped to deal with the unexpected consequences of Biden’s sanctions, there is not much to be done about the increasing cost of energy and food that is coming.
Some economists were concerned about stagflation 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 Russia invaded Ukraine. There are more reasons to worry now than there were then.
All the Biden policies plus all the earlier sanctions are whta caused the problem, NOT Russia’s delayed (by 8 years!!) invasion.
Another flunky heard from, he is not as funny as the clown from Kiev Zelensky.
As soon as Zelensky the Butcher of Bucha is eliminated the sooner the area formerly part of the Austro Hungarian and Russian Empires can be eliminated from the world map.
I am not sure that NATO and US have thought this through. China will not allow weak Russia, andvwill insure Russia gets wll the help it needs to weaken US standing in Europe. Because weak Russia would mean that China would be the target. In fact, we may say that the real target is China.
The militancy has one aim — to undermune economic development, technoligy, science, space. The idea is to get the kind of long term paralysis to Eurasia by focus on war, and tensions, And slow down growth and optimism,
That kind of slow down that conflicts brought to Latun America, Africa and Middle East. Iranian nuclear program really Iranian economic sabotage.
Russia and China are nit the only targets. Europe is target too. Euro has llost value, and militsrization of Europe, perpwtual tension with Russia and energy suffocation — all will spell end of Europe. It will become a large Puerto Rico. Giving US chance to reciver economically.
Empires never like peace and prosperity. It allows competitors to rise. Empires cannot have equals.
Challenge is for Eurasia to not allow conflicrta. Area is large enough to sustain stable economuc growth, and standard of living.
More likely a directed Ukraine and a weakened U.S. and nato
gnomes.. But only time will tell
Sort of like the benefits that the US has has brought to Iraq, Syria, Libya….
Sullivan didn’t say whether Ukraine’s destruction would be acceptable as long as Russia is weakened. But that’s obvious. Dead Ukrainians aren’t a concern. And for a country trying to avoid direct confrontation with a real nuclear power, those words seem precariously close to doing the opposite of that.
Oh, Jakey Boy, you’re so funny.
You’re too blind to see that because of people like you, Russia and China are uniting to form a superpower like Amerikkka could only be in its wildest dreams.
Buh-bye, Amerikkkan dominance, and good riddance.
China is a potential superpower.
In any such “uniting,” Russia would be at best an exceedingly junior partner and at worst, if it allowed the “uniting” to continue, a Chinese satrapy.
Perhaps Russia will be to China what England is to the US.
Why even broach such an unknown. As long as the U.S. and its NATO gnomes play supremcist games, China and Russia will stick to each other like glue. They have both made a lot of progress increasing deterrence and economic fortifications. They will not so easily be separated for the Arab chasing Westerners to pick off one at a time.
“As long as the U.S. and its NATO gnomes play supremcist games, China and Russia will stick to each other like glue.”
NATO was playing supremacist games in the 1950s-60s, when Mao got tired of being treated like a satrap by Kruschev and broke with the Soviet Union.
Do you think that China (with ten times the population and 4-5 times the GDP of Russia) will be any more respectful of Russian independence in such an imbalanced “partnership” than the Soviet Union was of Chinese independence when the roles were reversed?
When more powerful nations partner with less powerful nations, the relationship is never going to remain equal for long. The less powerful partner either accepts subservience or goes its own way.
For as long as the most powerful is by itself less than assuredly overwhelmingly more powerful that any combined hostile threat, but with partner is more than capable to stop any hostilities with dispatch, any quarreling or invidiousness will be at a minimum, until lesser party is no longer essential to the stronger party for absolutely assured vanquish of any and all threats.
According to Wikipedia, the Sino-Russian land border “measures 4,209.3 kilometres (2,615.5 mi), and is the world’s sixth-longest international border.” Fortunately for the Brits, they’ve got an entire ocean between themselves and the U.S. of A.
Ah…Thomas….I think China is way past the “potential” stage.
Particularly if we’re talking economically.
Of course Russia would be the junior partner. But aligning oneself with the future—-China—-is a smart move. Amerikkka is in its death throes.
I would classify a superpower as not just economic, but military and diplomatic. China is getting there on those metrics.
For a long time, they were odd man out diplomatically, but e.g. the Belt and Road initiative is starting to open more diplomatic doors for them.
And for a long time, all they really had going for them militarily was large numbers of troops and a nuclear arsenal big enough to serve as a deterrent. Now they’re building a more substantial blue water navy, catching up in space, etc.
Diplomatically, Russia seems to have cashed in most of its existing balance of chits when it invaded Ukraine. Those will come back when the dust settles, but slowly.
And militarily, it’s deja vu all over again. In 1991, we were scared sh*tless of Soviet military equipment and it turned out to be crap. Looks like the same situation again. Russia seems to have what it had before World War 2: Lots of land to grudgingly give up while it eats its Wheaties and builds a force that can go on the offensive effectively.
Of course, I could be wrong. Now that Put has cashiered the commanders of the Ukraine fiasco and replaced them with Dvornikov, maybe we’ll see a different, less brokedick, side of the Russian armed forces.
Good analysis on China, Thomas.
However I somewhat disagree with your view of the invasion. I believe the Russians were acting out of a degree of caution. And yes, with Dvornikov in charge now, that may well change.
It’s important to remember that not all armies carpet-bomb, spray poisonous defoliants indiscriminately, and drop napalm.
Shock and awe never seems to have been Russia’s goal.
It still looks to me like the Russian objective was LPR/DPR/land corridor to Crimea, and that the rest was just strategic feint.
If so, then the only real embarrassment they’ve dealt themselves is taking a month-and-a-half to do a one-week job on the former.
I agree concerning the Russian objective. But remember Thomas the the Ukrainians were the recipients of countless weapons from who knows how many nations.
That might slow anybody down,
Thomas, Do you really think China cares about the soft power fallout that will land on Russia? The U.S. and NATO got a chance to set Russia up for a first strike that it could not answer. Rather than some endless negotiations that go nowhere as the clock ticks, Russia took the Gordian route and are cutting the knot with raw power. Its probably another H Clinton V Nuland operation that then hope to win no matter what happens But Just like when they did the 2014 coup, they got a big surprise when Russia grabbed Crimea. I wonder if this is Nuland trying not get back Crimea to restore her Pit Bull fantasies. As of now the first unplanned shoe has dropped, the presumably unplanned for Petro Dollar snafu and alas the birth of the petro Roubble. Hmmm, how many more not so happy surprises await…..?????
No, I don’t think the Chinese regime cares about the soft power fallout that will land on Russia.
Or, at least, it only cares about that to the extent that it sees dangers or opportunities for itself.
Various politicians of various regimes across various ages seem to be quoted (some perhaps apocryphally) to something like the following effect (this one was supposedly Allen Dulles):
“The United States does not have allies. It has interests.”
Replace “the United States” with any other regime and it’s just as eternally true.
What pessimism LOL, but the Neocons in their glee to bash China have created a two headed Hyper Powered enemy for the U.S. and its collection of feckless NATO gnomes, with exception, of thermo-gnomes who will not be likely to stick out their necks for any perceived confrontations to carry water for the gnombodies.. Any satrapy of consequence will be amongst the lesser parties. After being down for so long the two big guys are apt to be very cautious of disunity.
Scott Ritter, in an interview with Gonzalo Lira, said that he expects Blinken, Sullivan and Nuland to be silenced or ousted after the midterm elections. One can only hope that this proves to be true.
Lira also said that the federal reserve and some people in treasury argued against the sanctions, but the arguments of Nuland and Hillary Clinton in favor of sanctions won out. I had to shudder thinking that Hillary Clinton almost became president. Arrogance and stupidity seem to be her main attributes. What a disaster her presidency would have been.
Lol, Johnny, you got that right.
Before the election I told someone that if somebody put a gun to my head and said, You MUST vote for Trump or Hitlery, I’d have had to tell them, Well, then, go ahead and shoot me.
I voted for Jill Stein.
And as I expected, Trump was a better bet for war and peace issues…
Despite the mainstream portrayal of Donald Trump, I felt like he actually did care about other people. Unlike the reprehensible Hillary Clinton, who cares only about Hillary Clinton.
Jakey is day dreaming… Russia will never be weakened… In fact, the opposite will happen and it’s happening now…!
The US / UK have been trying to weaken and destroy Russia since 1945 and they haven`t succeded yet and never will , China will have Russia`s back because the Chinese know if Russia falls they will be next .
So what they get in the end is a weak ukraine and very strong Russia.
And they wonder why only 40 out of 180 countries belonging to the UN General Assembly voted for sanctions. The rest are hoping Russia wins. In the meantime India and Russia are trading oil in rubles/rupees and S.Arabia and China are talking oil for yuan. Bye bye petrodollar.