US sanctions on Russia have made a “real difference” in the war in Ukraine, the top US diplomat on sanctions policy says. CNN this Sunday (27) in an exclusive interview.
“Russia is incapable of conducting a war in modern terms,” Ambassador Jim O’Brien, head of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, told the CNN in the port of Odesa.
“You see that communications are lacking. Precision weapons. Fast movement of troops. So it’s a different kind of war.”
Russia was forced to abandon what O’Brien called its “imperial project” to quickly conquer Ukraine. The sanctions, along with Ukrainian “courage and ingenuity” on the battlefield, changed Russia’s stated goals.
“It started with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an effort to take over the capital. He switched to a kind of incremental improvement on the land he had taken before the war. And now it’s giving back that territory. And so these are real changes in Russian behavior. It is partly related to sanctions, partly to export controls – they cannot buy the types of inputs they need for their military to function,” the ambassador told the CNN 🇧🇷
He said the United States’ commitment to Ukraine would continue “from now until the end of this war until Ukraine succeeds.”
O’Brien visited the main port of Odesa on Sunday to highlight Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “Grains from Ukraine” initiative to help ensure the country’s food products reach the world’s neediest nations.
Ukrainian grain has been able to leave ports for some time under an agreement negotiated between the UN, Turkey and Russia, but many poorer nations cannot afford it.
“Just yesterday there were announcements of grain going to Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan eventually, and a variety of other countries eventually that are most in need,” O’Brien said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
