US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has hit out at Vladimir Putin while assuring Ukraine that the country still has the support of the US.
Speaking after a meeting with NATO allies on Wednesday, Mr Blinken said: “We focused on NATO’s enduring support for Ukraine, I have to tell you all of our colleagues around the table, every single one, expressed strong and enduring support for Ukraine.
“Some are questioning whether the US and other Western allies should continue to stand with Ukraine as we enter the second winter of Putin’s brutality.
“The answer here today at NATO is clear and unwavering. We must and we will continue to support Ukraine. Ensuring that Russia’s war of aggression remains a strategic failure is as vital today as it was when the Kremlin launched that war almost two years ago.”
Mr Blinken’s comments come as many Republicans in the US call for Washington to end its military funding for Ukraine.
Speaking this week, NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg made similar remarks regarding Ukraine.
He said: “It’s our obligation to ensure that we provide Ukraine with the weapons they need, because it will be a tragedy for Ukrainians if President Putin wins. It will also be dangerous for us.
“The challenge now is that we need to sustain the support. We just have to stay the course.”
It is likely that US President Joe Biden will face off against Donald Trump once again in 2024’s election.
Trump has previously said he could end the war “in 24 hours”, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said Trump “can’t bring peace” because of Putin.
Inviting Trump to Kyiv, Zelensky said: “If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes – yes, 24 minutes… to explain (to) President Trump that he can’t manage this war. He can’t bring peace because of Putin.
On the state of the war, Zelensky added: “We hold the initiative in our hands. You can imagine what a full-scale war or what two years of a full-scale war is like.
“Everybody gets tired. Even the iron gets tired. But, nevertheless, I am proud of our warriors and of our people, that they are strong… Our people have a strong desire to win.”
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