US supplied ‘a lot of weapons’ to Ukraine ahead of conflict with Russia – Blinken

The “quietly” supplied armaments have proven “instrumental” in Ukraine’s defense, according to the US secretary of state

Washington supplied “a lot of weapons” to Ukraine in the months before the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev began in February 2022, outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted.

The top diplomat made the remarks while speaking on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, aired on Saturday. The US saw the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “coming” and wanted to get Kiev “prepared” for it, according to Blinken. 

“Starting in September and then again in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves – things like Stingers, Javelins that they could use,” he said.

The weaponry has proven “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map,” Blinken asserted. 

Read more

The intentions ascribed to Moscow by the top US diplomat, however, sharply contrast with the goals of the military operation repeatedly articulated by Russia’s leadership. The original aims included demilitarization and denazification of the country, as well as Kiev accepting a neutral status and abandoning its aspirations to join NATO. 

Over time, the list was somewhat expanded in the wake of the incorporation of the four formerly Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, into Russia. Moscow has repeatedly said any potential negotiations with Kiev would require it to accept the “realities on the ground,” as well as to withdraw troops from the new Russian territories.

Blinken’s remarks received a poor reception in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik suggested the revelations somewhat undermined the usual narrative about the supposedly “unprovoked Russian aggression.”

“Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” Miroshnik said in a Telegram post.