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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said President Biden promised his country more weapons from the U.S. for its bid to fight off a Russian invasion.
Asked by Fox News’ Bret Baier if his meetings with Biden Tuesday resulted in a promise of more U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine, Kuleba said, “Yes,” before noting that such guarantees should be moved on quickly given the uncertainties around Russia’s intentions.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba
( Sergey Dolzhenko/pool/AFP Via Getty Images)
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“The problem is we that we don’t have a clear understanding of Putin’s timeline… how he planned his further actions, neither here in Washington nor back in Kyiv,” Kuleba said. “So the only solution that we have under these circumstances is to act as swiftly as we can.”
Kuleba made clear that the only weapons Ukraine is seeking for the U.S. “are defensive weapons,” noting that the country has never “asked the United States to send troops to Ukraine.”
The comments come as the security situation in Ukraine has continued to deteriorate and hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict dwindle, with the White House canceling a planned meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that was slated for Thursday. Those talks were supposed to be a precursor for a potential summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Biden, a meeting that is also off as Russian troops spill across the Ukrainian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Yuri Kochetkov/Pool)
Putin signed decrees on Monday recognizing the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine before moving Russian troops across the border in what he called a “peacekeeping” mission, a move that drew immediate international condemnation and sanctions from both the U.S. and European Union.
But Putin’s speech justifying the move seemingly alluded to plans to further invade Ukraine, calling into question the very idea that the country has a right to an independent existence.
“The main narrative of Vladimir Putin is simple and horrifying,” Kuleba told Baier, arguing that Putin does not believe Ukraine has a “right to exist.”
Kuleba believes that Putin “openly” declared “his intention to literally destroy” Ukraine, an effort he says his country will resist even if diplomatic efforts are unsuccessful.
“We will be fighting for our land and our people,” Kuleba said.
Asked why the American people should support Ukraine and the efforts of the Biden administration to supply it with aid, Kuleba argued it was a matter of America keeping its promises.
President Joe Biden
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“Ukraine abandoned the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world” for “security guarantees” promised by the U.S., Kuleba argued. But the Ukrainian diplomat also made clear a failure to support his country will have far-ranging implications for the rest of the West, arguing that allowing Putin to invade Ukraine without consequence will embolden the Russian leader in the future.
“This will send a clear message across the entire world that the West is incapable of defending its principles,” Kuleba said, warning that “other players” would soon “challenge the United States” based on its inaction in Ukraine.
