US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks at a panel with Friends of Europe in Brussels, Belgium, April 21, 2022. REUTERS / Johanna Geron
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BRUSSELS, April 21 (Reuters) – US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Thursday that Russia was failing to meet its targets of invading Ukraine and that Western sanctions were part of the reason.
“What we are aiming for here is a strategic failure for (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. And I believe that this is already happening, that whatever happens … Ukraine will survive,” Sherman told Friends of Brain Trust for Europe event in Brussels.
Sherman, speaking after talks with EU Secretary-General Stefano Sanino, did not offer any concrete evidence for her comments.
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But she cited economic sanctions and export controls imposed by the United States, the European Union, Britain, Japan and other allies following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has said its “special military operation” is essential to ensuring Russia’s security and rejects Western accusations of atrocities and indiscriminate shelling of cities.
“Putin is facing a strategic failure because of the sanctions that have been imposed because of the long-term impact this will have,” Sherman said.
Western sanctions have already plunged Russia into its deepest economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Sherman said there would be a “long queue” for sanctions and control over Russia’s exports. She also hopes that China will take into account Western unity.
“We have hundreds of American companies literally that have left Russia and are not returning. So the queue here is very long. There will be a strategic failure. Putin has become a pariah in the world,” she said.
Sherman also said that if the European Union decides to impose oil and gas sanctions on Russia, the United States will seek to avoid any price increases that would help Russian finances.
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Report by Robin Emmott, additional reports by David Brunstrom and Michael Martina in Washington, DC Edited by Tomasz Janowski
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