Russian president, Vladimir Putin ”did not make any escalatory statement
in the Russian President’s Victory Day speech Monday, May 9, because he
“has recognized he has no victory to celebrate,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said.
During a speech commemorating Russia’s defeat of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II on Monday in Moscow, Putin reiterated his accusation that the West left him no choice but to invade Ukraine.
Russia canceled all flight shows meant for the day while Putin didn’t say his next plan in Ukraine – whether to halt the war, continue with the war or even acknowledge a ‘victory’ as Western intelligence had predicted.
In the first reaction from a Joe Biden administration official to Putin’s speech, Thomas-Greenfield said that Putin’s war will continue.
“There was no reason for (Putin) to either declare victory or declare a war that he has already been carrying on for more than two months,” Thomas-Greenfield said to CNN.
“His efforts in Ukraine have not succeeded,” she added. “He was not able to go into Ukraine and bring them to their knees in a few days and have them surrender.”
“He didn’t announce a withdrawal. He didn’t announce a deal with the Ukrainians,” she told CNN. “So I suspect and we all assess that this could be a long-term conflict that could carry on for additional months.”
Moreover, it would be too strong to say the United States “welcomed” Putin’s remarks on Monday, Thomas-Greenfield told CNN, because the “unconscionable war on the Ukrainian people” continues.
“So what we would see as a positive sign is for Putin to pull his troops out of Ukraine and bring this unconscionable war to an end,” she said.
