Biden Nat-Sec Adviser Says Putin ‘Frustrated’ over Lack of Military Progress
White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said Russian president Vladimir Putin is “frustrated” by slow progress in the invasion of Ukraine, in interviews with multiple outlets on Sunday.
The comments came after a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian military training base less than 15 miles from Poland, in which at least 35 people were killed.
Sullivan was also asked to respond on air on CNN to reports that an American journalist was killed while covering the conflict. (The reports were subsequently confirmed and the journalist identified as Brent Renaud, a 50-year-old documentary filmmaker who has worked for the New York Times, Vice, and numerous other outlets.)
“If in fact an American journalist was killed, it is a shocking and horrifying event,” Sullivan said on State of the Union. “It is one more example of the brutality of Vladimir Putin and his forces.”
"Shocking and horrifying": US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46 reacts to a reported killing of an American journalist in Ukraine by Russian forces, according to police in Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/aKkKpRq9IM
— CNN (@CNN) March 13, 2022
Host Dana Bash also asked Sullivan about the strike on the military training base, noting its proximity to NATO-member Poland.
“What it shows is that Vladimir Putin is frustrated by the fact that his forces are not making the kind of progress that he thought that they would make against major cities including Kyiv,” Sullivan responded. Sullivan added that Putin is now “lashing out” and “trying to cause damage in every part of the country.”
While there are no U.S. troops stationed in Ukraine, Sullivan repeated President Biden’s pledge to defend “every inch of NATO territory.”
"Vladimir Putin is frustrated." National Security Adviser @JakeSullivan tells @DanaBashCNN why Russian forces attacked a Ukrainian military base near the border of NATO territory: https://t.co/JUxtTHEWOo pic.twitter.com/LtM0YYUGsJ
— CNN (@CNN) March 13, 2022
Sullivan made similar comments on NBC’s Meet the Press. “It’s no surprise that the Russians are trying to expand the number of targets in this war because they’re frustrated by their lack of ability to take major cities,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan will meet in Rome tomorrow with Yang Jiechi, China’s Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, the White House announced on Sunday. The two are scheduled to “discuss the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security,” NSC spokesperson Emily Thorne said in a statement.
