JUST IN: Blinken Confirms Biden Authorized Ukraine To Use Weapons Inside Russia

Hera pamuk with Reuters hello good afternoon Mr secretary um I have two questions one on Ukraine one on Gaza so the Biden Administration has allowed Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia to defend car do you leave the door open for this decision to be expanded to other cities and targets that are deeper inside Russia and since it took the Biden Administration a while to make this decision I’m wondering do you think you were too cautious or has your intelligence assessment on the possibility of Putin using tactical nuclear weapons has shifted and on Gaza the UN said humanitarian Aid going into Gaza is dropped by 2/3 since Israel began its Rafa offensive your colleague USA administrator Samantha power who’s an export expert on genocide yesterday said the humanitarian conditions in Gaza were Now worse than ever on April the 4th President Biden conditioned US military a to Israel on Improvement of the situation among other things so I’m wondering why isn’t the current dire picture in Gaza triggering a bigger policy shift thank you great thanks you so with regard to uh the use of us Arms by Ukraine and Russia uh I said this the other day the Hallmark of our engagement our support for Ukraine over these more than two years has been to adapt and adjust as necessary to meet what’s actually going on on the battlefield to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs uh when it needs it uh to do that deliberately and and effectively and that’s exactly what we’re doing in response to what we’ve now seen in uh in and around the kke region um over the past few weeks Ukraine came to us and asked for the authorization to uh use weapons that we’re providing to defend against this aggression including against Russian forces that are massing on the Russian side of the border and then attacking into Ukraine uh and uh that went right to the president and as you’ve heard he’s approved in use of our weapons for that for that purpose um going forward we’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing which is as necessary adapt and adjust and that as I said has been a Hallmark of our engagement uh it will uh continue to be I’ve also said many many times we want to make sure we proceeding um deliberately as well as effectively so I think time and again we’ve um adapted we’ve adjusted we’ve provided Ukraine with the systems the weapons it’s needed but again as I’ve shared with you many times before for example when it comes to weapon systems we also want to make sure that they have the necessary training to use the weapons and they have the necessary capacity to maintain them so you have to look at this in a in a comprehensive way and uh I think if you look back as well as to what we’re doing now uh it reflects very deliberate determination to make sure that we’re getting Ukraine what they need when they needed uh with regard to Gaza and the humanitarian situation um humanitarian situation remains dire for people in Gaza we’ve seen changes some positive changes but the net effect uh is not there the positive changes are that of course Crossings in the north have been opened uh in recent weeks including Zim we have a route from Jordan that is getting uh trucks in if you look at the number of trucks that are actually getting to Gaza and going in it’s up significantly but distribution within Gaza is not working effectively and part of the reason for that uh are the uh the combat operations in the south in addition Rafa gate continues to be closed U President Biden secured an agreement with Egypt and with Israel to make sure that Goods could go through Kem Shalom including Goods coming from Egypt but Rafa remains closed uh and that’s a real problem so the the focus that we have continue to have and are working on intensely every day is again making sure that we’re not just measuring inputs we’re measuring impact and yes the impact remains insufficient in terms of uh addressing the acute needs of children women and men uh in Gaza uh but it’s a moving story every day as we’re working intensely to make sure that the different access points are working and then distribution within Gaza is working more effectively um and that’s what we’re we’re focused on

Speaking to reporters at the NATO meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that President Biden has authorized Ukraine to use weapons inside Russia.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

31 comments

  3. What' concern about this is that Ukraine is about to be wiped off the map by a rain of nukes by Russia if they dare to attack Russia soil with weapons from the US and nato which will lead to a confrontation with NATO and where every country in Europe that got involved in a war in Russia will also have its turn. everyone underestimates russia what they wouldn't do but will soon find out..

  4. Someone needs to do that thing they did with john f Kennedy on joe biden. Then kamala harris can be first black woman president and fulfill the democrat agenda of public "good guy" image.

  7. Recently, a debate on some Dutch news featured four 'right-wing' individuals from different parties. According to Bbb representatives, they are strong supporters of Ukraine's side. Ja21 also expressed their support for Ukraine's goals. CCDP wanted to support peace goals in the region. However, FVD is against the more support for Ukraine.

  8. Biden and his Administration are the worst in Washington in the last 100 years. I mean do they want to try to get us all taken out? WTH? I don't care if Trump is put in cell block 6,he's still getting my vote! Branden is incompetent and everyone knows it and his "team of 30 year old robots running things" SUCK!!!!!

  12. Doomsday Countdown

    The United States has become a wounded, cornered beast – a former juggernaut now staggering on its last legs. Its power and influence, once unrivaled, bleed away with each agonizing step. All that remains are hollow echoes of a faded golden era taunting its decline into irrelevance.

    But it is precisely this mortally wounded state that renders the US a clear and present danger to the entire world. A dying empire is the most treacherous adversary, lashing out with desperate, erratic fury. Each convulsive death throe increases the apocalyptic risk – the looming specter of nuclear obliteration.

    We find ourselves unwitting hostages, human sacrifices on the altar of American collapse. The empire's final paroxysms could be the extinction-level event that silences all life on this planet. The doomsday clock has never ticked louder, its ominous cadence warning that time has nearly run out.

    How much longer can we gamble with the fate of our species? The wounded beast must be subdued, its death managed to prevent a civilization-ending cataclysm. For if its death throes trigger apocalyptic devastation, not even the most enduring of empires will survive the nuclear firestorm. Humanity's hourglass is running perilously low on sand.

  19. It’s sabotage. The Russians have promised an asymmetrical response. The ineptitude of the Democratic Party gave us two world wars, Korea, and Vietnam. When Clinton refused to pull the trigger on Bin Laden, we got 9/11 instead. And here we go again!

  25. Putin is not someone to play with . You have belittled a super power. He has continuously warned you the same way he continuously warned you not to expand nato . What don’t you understand that he will flatten Ukraine. What do u think will happen if one missile hits Moscow or a Russian city. They will nuke Ukraine and god knows who else

Leave a Reply