No matter what takes place during the war in Ukraine, Russia will never achieve its military goals, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday.
Sullivan spoke to the press during a briefing sans White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in less than five months, and reiterated that the people of Ukraine would never back down.
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“Whether Russia takes a city or takes a town or takes more territory, they are never going to be able to achieve the purpose that they set out, which was to subjugate this country, to bring this country to heel,” Sullivan said. “Because the Ukrainian people have made very clear that they will not be subjugated, no matter what it takes.”
In response to a reporter’s question, Sullivan said he was not speaking about specific military tactics or outcomes but on the resilience of Ukrainian citizens and leaders.
“What I said was that Russia’s never going to take Ukraine away from the Ukrainian people,” he said. Russia is “never going to be able to subjugate the Ukrainian people. That was not a statement about a particular slice of territory that a Russian advance could occupy for a period of time, or about a particular battle that some Russian element could win.”
The United States is committed to making sure Ukraine has the tools it needs to defend itself and keep Russia from achieving its objectives, Sullivan added.
Indications are that the war is not going well for the Russian invaders. Vladimir Putin’s troops appear stalled, and Ukrainian forces announced on Tuesday they had reclaimed control over a suburb of Kyiv, the country’s capital.
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The Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces pushed Russians out of Makariv, which allowed them to regain access and control of a key highway. This also hurts the Russians’ ability to come from the northwest. However, Russia was able to take partial control of various other suburbs, including Bucha, Hostomel, and Irpin, according to the Associated Press.
Russian forces have only taken two population centers, according to Pentagon officials, who now say they are unsure of what the country’s long-term objectives are in the war.
