Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned it's apparent Russian President Vladimir Putin has targets past Ukraine and will produce other international locations in his sights.
"When President Biden addressed the nation at this time, he mentioned that Putin needs a brand new Soviet Union. Is there intelligence to recommend that President Putin will advance past Ukraine?" "CBS Night Information" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell requested Blinken in an interview on Thursday.
"You do not want intelligence to inform you that that is precisely what President Putin needs," the highest U.S. diplomat mentioned. "He is made clear that he'd prefer to reconstitute the Soviet empire. Wanting that, he'd prefer to reassert a sphere of affect round neighboring international locations that have been as soon as a part of the Soviet bloc. And in need of that, he'd prefer to be sure that all of those international locations are by some means impartial."
However Putin would face intense resistance from the North Atlantic Treaty Group in doing so, he mentioned.
"Now, relating to a menace past Ukraine's borders, there's one thing very highly effective standing in his approach," Blinken added. "That is Article 5 of NATO — an assault on one is an assault on all. It is precisely why we have been reinforcing NATO's japanese flank."
The Biden administration has been adamant that it'll not ship U.S. troops into Ukraine, which isn't a part of NATO, although it's stationing troops in close by international locations. As a substitute, the U.S. is arming Ukraine with weapons and has unleashed a sequence of sanctions towards Russia.
When requested what the U.S. was doing to decrease the danger of an unintentional escalation between U.S. troops in close by international locations and Russian forces, Blinken mentioned the Biden administration needs to have "communication with Russia on a navy foundation to make very clear what it dangers if it miscalculates."
As Russia launched an assault on Ukraine, Putin warned that international locations that stood in its approach would face extreme penalties which have by no means been seen in historical past, elevating considerations that he was threatening a nuclear assault.
"I can not start to get into his head and to say precisely what he means by that," Blinken mentioned. "We have ready for no matter course that he chooses to take."
Blinken mentioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to be in Ukraine.
"We're involved for the security of all of our pals in Ukraine, authorities officers and others," Blinken mentioned. "And we're doing every thing we will to face with them to help them."