Blinken says Russia has already seen a ‘strategic defeat’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said Russia has already experienced a “strategic defeat” in its invasion of Ukraine.

“If you step back and look at this, this has already been a dramatic strategic setback for Russia, and I would say a strategic defeat,” Blinken told co-anchor Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked about additional sanctions the U.S. may impose on Russia.

Blinken said Russia has already failed in the three main goals it had at the start of its invasion of Ukraine.

“They had three aims going into this. One was to subjugate Ukraine to Russia’s will, to take away its sovereignty and independence. The second was to assert Russian power. The third was to divide the west and NATO. On all three fronts, its already lost,” Blinken said.

“Ukraine, its sovereignty and independence is gonna be there a lot longer than Vladimir Putin is gonna be on the scene, the Russian military has dramatically underperformed, its economy is reeling, and the west, NATO are more united than any time I can remember,” he added.

Blinken’s comments come as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is progressing through its fifth week. While Moscow has taken control of some cities, its efforts have stalled in a number of areas because of staunch Ukrainian opposition.

Ukraine’s forces regainned full control of the region around Kyiv on Sunday for the first time since Russia’s invasion of the country began in late February.