White House official announces ‘rapid and surprising’ Ukrainian advances into Russian-held territory
John Kirby (Picture: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The White House reiterated cautious optimism regarding Ukraine’s recent advances into Russian-held territory on Tuesday, with John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, saying it has been “swift and surprising.”
“They certainly have a certain momentum, particularly up there in the northeastern part of the country in that Donbas region. You’ve already seen from that report how quick and amazing their progress has been,” Kirby said during an appearance on “Good Morning America.” .
“However, there is more fighting to be done, especially in the south, where the Ukrainians are also trying to break through near the city of Kherson. They have made some progress there. They face tougher Russian resistance in the south, but it is clear that in that northeastern region, the Ukrainians are gaining momentum, there’s no doubt about it,” Kirby said.
He noted that the offensive has been “weeks in the planning.”
Pressed on threats to Russian President Vladimir Putin inside Russia, Kirby said the United States is watching closely.
“It’s very interesting to see, isn’t it, that he’s facing some public rebuke not just from opposition figures, but from actual elected officials inside Russia. That’s not insignificant, and we’ll see where this goes. And we’re already We’re starting to see signs that they’re probably going to start cracking down on some of these dissenting elected officials. We’ll be watching closely. But it’s noteworthy that now even municipal elected officials are coming out against Mr. Putin. “, said.
Asked if the US believes the table has been set for a diplomatic deal, Kirby said he would refer to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Mr. Putin has shown no inclination to stop the prosecution of this war against the Ukrainian people, as we saw with his retaliatory attacks and in Kharkiv just over the weekend. So I don’t think we have reached that point. Obviously, President Biden fully supports a diplomatic end to this war, an end that we would like to see today if possible, but I don’t know if we’re on the horizon right now,” he said.