Americans to pay in blood if U.S. stops supporting Ukraine, Kirby
John Kirby warned that Ukraine's loss in the war would force the invocation of NATO Article 5 (Photo: Getty Images)
If the United States stops supporting Ukraine, it will bring Russia to the borders of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). This will activate Article 5 of the Alliance's Charter, and the price will be American blood, according to The White House.
In his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on the United States to stop supporting Ukraine, and this will be a big gift for him.
Kirby is convinced that if Putin conquers Ukraine, he will be on NATO's doorstep.
"If he gets Ukraine, he gets right up against the doorstep of NATO. And as I said the other day, if you think the cost of supporting Ukraine is high now, think about wh- — how high it’s going to be in national treasure and American blood if we have to start acting on our Article Five commitments (an attack on one NATO member means an attack on all NATO member states. - Ed.)," the White House spokesman said.
He also noted that the Russian president had been counting on such a development from the very beginning of this war, as he did not believe in the unity of the West and NATO, as well as the sufficient strength of the United States.
"If you care about our national security, you ought to see Mr. Putin for what he is, you ought to see Russia for what it is, and realize that helping Ukraine — and they’re not asking for boots on the ground — helping them win this war is very much in our national security interest and the national security interest of all our allies in Europe," Kirby concluded.
Problems with U.S. financial assistance to Ukraine
Ukraine risks losing U.S. military support due to the complicated process of approving financial aid packages by the U.S. Congress.
On December 6, the Senate blocked the start of debate on Joe Biden's $106 billion aid package, which includes more than $61 billion for Ukraine's defense needs. The reason was the Republicans' demand that the bill include stricter requirements for the protection of the southern U.S. border with Mexico.
U.S. President Joe Biden reacted sharply to the voting results and accused the Republicans of playing political games.
The White House is ready to compromise on toughening border crossing rules for migrants to get the Republican Party's votes to approve aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that allowing Russia to win will encourage other dictators to start new wars and destroy democracies.
Read more about why the U.S. cannot agree on funding for Ukraine's aid in RBC-Ukraine.
