The United States authorities are alarmed by the potential ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin to go down in world history through the revival of the USSR. The State Department is convinced that the Kremlin considers Ukraine and the rest of the former Soviet republics to be "its area of influence."
"There are prerequisites to believe that he (President Putin—Ed. note), as a project of his legacy, seeks to revive the Soviet Union, and then who knows whether his appetite will be satisfied with what he has eaten or whether he decides to go further?" Victoria Nuland, US Under Secretary of State, stated during a hearing in the US Senate.
Meanwhile, she added that the Russian leader underestimates European allies who are ready and able to resist Moscow's aggression.
Nuland on sanctions against Russia
Shortly after a two-hour online summit between Putin and his American counterpart Joe Biden, the US Under Secretary of State explained that the new package of sanctions in the case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be much more powerful than the previous ones. The White House, she said, is preparing "Day 1 measures, Day 5 measures, and Day 10 measures," the last ones will include a military response.
Moreover, she noted that the Ukrainian armed forces have become much more "battle-ready" since 2014, in particular due to assistance from the United States.
Context. On December 7, the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, held negotiations. Upon their completion, the White House and the Kremlin published each of their versions of the course of the conversation and its results.
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