Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Sunday that the United States will respond if “a single additional Russian force” enters Ukraine.
Blinken’s comments were made to CNN during a morning press blitz after British officials said Saturday night that the Kremlin plans to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine and has considered a potential candidate.
“If a single additional Russian force goes into Ukraine in an aggressive way, as I said, that would trigger a swift, a severe, and a united response from us and from Europe,” Blinken said.
“There are other things that Russia could do that fall short of actually sending additional forces into Ukraine, and again, across the board we’re prepared with Europe for a swift and calibrated and very united response. We’re looking at every single scenario, preparing for every single one.”
Blinken outlined some of those scenarios in another Sunday morning interview with CBS. Those actions could include “hybrid actions, cyber attacks, efforts to bring a government down.”
“And there, too, I am very confident, based on the many consultations I’ve had with European allies and partners, that there will be a swift, calibrated, and also united response,” Blinken said.
Blinken also addressed the threats to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky after the bombshell announcement from the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Saturday. He pointed to similar comments the U.S. has made about “false flag” operations.
“We’ve raised this publicly in recent weeks,” Blinken said. “We want to put people on notice and on guard that this is something Russia could do, just as we’ve talked about the possibility of a so-called false flag operation where Russia creates a provocation inside of Ukraine and uses that as justification to take aggressive action.”
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In a third interview, with NBC, Blinken reiterated that some of the measures the U.S. has already taken to address destabilizing activities conducted by Russia include the sanctioning of four Russian agents in Ukraine.
“There are a whole series of other actions that they’ve taken in the past and are preparing to take potentially in Ukraine, and it’s important they be put on notice,” Blinken said.
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In his interview with CNN, Blinken also backed up comments from President Joe Biden last week that an invasion of Ukraine would be the most consequential event in global warfare since World War II.
“He’s exactly right. And again, this underscores why this is so important not just for Ukraine, not just for Russia, not just for Europe and the United States, but for the world,” Blinken said.
He said that an invasion of Ukraine puts at stake “very basic principles of international relations that have been established” through both world wars and the Cold War.
“One nation can’t go in by force and change the borders of another,” Blinken said. “One nation can’t dictate to another its policies, its choices, including with whom it will associate.”
He said that allowing an invasion of Ukraine “opens a Pandora’s box that countries well beyond Europe will see and maybe decide to act on.”
Blinken reiterated those comments in his interview with NBC, adding that “the entire world” should be concerned about what happens in Ukraine.
“What’s at stake here is not simply the relationship between Ukraine and Russia or even between Europe and Russia or the United States and Russia,” he said.
Blinken told CBS that the United States was seeking diplomatic and defense paths to the Russian aggression at the border with Ukraine. However, he resisted calls from Ukraine to impose immediate sanctions on Russia.
“The most important thing we can do is to use them as a deterrent, as a means of dissuading Russia from engaging in further aggression,” Blinken said. “Once sanctions are triggered, you lose the deterrent effect.”
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In 1994, Ukraine signed an agreement with the U.S., the UK and Russia under which it gave up its nuclear arsenal in return for certain assurances, i.e. the Budapest Memorandum signed in 1994. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine had on its territory the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal, bigger than Britain, France and China combined. The treaty gave assurances that the United States Britain, and Russia would respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, that there would be no use of force or threat of force against Ukraine. If the mindless media would stop insisting that because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, we have no business there, they need to understand that the USA signed this treaty guaranteeing them no invasions would occur, and is obligated to insure they do not. Russia broke the treaty in 2014 under Russian loving President Obama, now we have another traitor in his VEEP ramrod, now elevated into USA Trail Boss, about to drive the Ukrainian cattle off a cliff or into the hands of the Communist Jayhawkers. Biden must have emptied the trail saloons of dancehall girls, drunks and gamblers when he put this cabinet of military advisors together to lead the USA into more bogs, swamps and quicksand. Keep Blinken and soon Ukraine will disappear right before your lying eyes.
Storm clouds are gathering. Biden looks agitated and Rootin’ Tootin’ Putin has a smirk on his face, You reckon it was something Biden said? 🙁
Biden looks agitated
No, Biden just has gas.
Because all that time and effort he and Hunter spent corrupting the Ukrainians for laundered money kickbacks, and imaginary 6 figure employment for Hunter in an oil industry he has no expertise in,,,is about to get cutoff, that use to fund his crime family coverups, Joe now greatly in need of cash to pay off the media for covering his six. AGAIN. Had the media done their job and exposed instead of covering up the Biden Ukrainian corruption instead of diverting attention to it with some phony accusing of Trump of doing exactly what Joe was doing,,, this impending war would not even be on the table. American soldiers may now need to rush in, where honest journalists and Democrats should have, but feared to tread.
Na. That’s h is normal face!
Biden should tell Putin that if he invades, after he is thrown out it will cost him the Crimea and about the only warm naval port he now holds,,,,as an American unconditional condition. Arm the Ukrainian army with singers, anti-tanks missiles and those Cossacks can take care of things on the ground, after we take total control of the Ukrainian skies. Make no misunderstanding that we have not the ability to do it and do it without manned aircraft, and without invading Soviet air space when they invade Ukrainian air space. Invading Soviet airspace will become one of the consequences of them going too far and refusing to retreat back home. Putin needs to be openly told, that this is not a win or break-even confrontation. Losing the Crimea should be just one of the prices he pays for aggression, with his oil pipeline to Europe thrown in for good measure. If Biden does not open up our own American ability to become oil independent, in this time of crisis then impeachment of He and Kamala should be the first business of Congress when they lose it in 2022.
Since according to Fox this morning, we are getting THOUSANDS OF barrels of oil from russia, i HIGHLY DOUBT biden OR BLINKIN would jeopardize that, to actually DO A DAMN THING to russia, if hey do invade…
The hapless, feckless, soulless administration, under the demented, stupid, criminal, biden, are going to get us in a shooting war with russia. And, while that’s going on, china will take Taiwan, and put missle silos in cuba. How does that set with all you morons who voted for him?
The gross incompetence of Tony Blinken and the gross incompetence of our “dementia” President, criminal Joe and his staff of less than donkeys!
ITS imo not incompetence, its DOWN RIGHT high bloody treason!
It would be nice if Biden’s buffoons paid as much attention to the US-Mexico border as they do to the Ukraine-Russia border! Sadly, with this bunch we’re screwed on all counts. Their domestic policy ***** (inflation + empty store shelves), they are worthless on border security, they gave up on Afghanistan, and now things are looking bleak for Ukraine.
the democrats are running on a no borders platform–this way if they ever manage to get their so called voter rights bill passed-
with no borders and no VOTER ID –ANY ONE FROM ANY WHERE CAN VOTE IN AN ELECTION IN AMERICA-and just imagine how many dead people will show up–
From the perspective of our enemies, Biden is completely efficient on our borders allowing the drugs in that kill the youth of our future and dull the minds of THE PEOPLE, that allow the debilitating COVID to pour in unvetted, and overwhelm our economy with lockdowns of our citizens while the illegal aliens and local criminals take over the governments of the democrat-controlled cities. There is no way Joe is doing this for them for free. God know what dirt they hold over his head that he so betrays his nation and office.
It would be helpful if Biden would respond to the whole world that Putin is about to invade a sovereign neighbor country, for the pure reason of imperialistically expanding the size of Russia. I thought leftists were opposed to imperialism. Oh, wait, Biden does not want to offend Russia, because the mayor of Moscow gave Hunter Biden $3 million, for still unexplored or explained reasons. Isn’t it ironic how useless the United Nations is right now? With 193 members, you would think that they could at least muster 185 votes for a resolution condemning this clear act of aggression, that is almost identical to when Hitler invaded Poland. Subtract Russia, Germany, North Korea, China, and Iran from the signers of the resolution. Of course it would never get approved by the UN security council, which is overly controlled by Russia and China. The UN needs to be kicked out of New York city, based on it’s uselessness in world affairs.
AND where the hell is the REST OF NATO>>
As anyone can see, the UN is as worthless as the League of Nations before it, and with the enemies of this country in control, they will do everything they can to block us from from any reasonable actions. It’s decades past time for the United States to withdraw from the UN, cut off our funds, and tell them they have one year to relocate from this country. Let some other sucker have the ” honor ” of hosting them.
Most of us have KNOWN the UN has been utterly useless, since the late 80s.. WHEN THEY STARTED letting nations such as China, Iraq, Saudi etc, onto their ‘Human rights council”..
Governments only do three things well. Tax, Inflate and make War. Uncle Joe is betting on the trifecta. Hoping War and the distraction it causes will get him and his admin out of the mess they have caused.
unfortunately it will likely also end the united states as we know it
They do all three things in quantity, but I disagree that they do them well. When it comes to Democrat governance, less is more.
IF A SINGLE ADDITIONAL RUSSIAN FORCE ENTERS UKRAINE–
secretary blinken–you either have horrible sentence structure or you are telling us that russia already has entered
ukraine-WHICH IS IT–
joe will say “stop or I’ll say stop again”. What a joke!!!
Joe says “STOP”, but then the Russians pull out all the recording of his and Hunter’s criminal Russian and Ukrainian business deals and it is Joe who is forced to “STOP”. Joe himself is well aware that nobody is better than Putin in having political people who cross him disappear from the planet,,,,Other than the Clintons of course.
Stop, or i will cry to mom!
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
If Russia goes into the Ukraine any way at all, all they’ll get is a peepee smack of no consequence from this or Europe governments
Especially germany, who’s RELIANT On their gas and oil!