[ad_1]
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday ridiculed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the captured Ukrainian city of Mariupol over the weekend, saying the Russian despot should be aware of how badly he messed up the invasion.
Speaking to reporters at a White House briefing, Kirby noted that the coastal city of Mariupol is far from the front lines of hostilities in Ukraine, where troops are holding back Russian occupiers. Mariupol was almost completely destroyed by artillery fire during the invasion. The Putin regime touted reconstruction efforts there as evidence of its claim to liberate Ukrainians from fascist leaders.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks at a daily briefing at the White House in Washington on Monday, March 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“I hope he saw the damage and destruction that his troops inflicted on this city. And I heard… that he was going to consider all the ways [rebuild] Mariupol. What about the fact that it didn’t have to be restored because it wasn’t supposed to come? Kirby said, clearly annoyed.
TOP EU DIPLOMAT SUPPORTS SUPPLY OF HIGH-SPEED ARTILLERY SHELLS TO UKRAINE
“So, I hope he saw what his troops, his army and the war did to this city,” Kirby said. “Obviously he knows. He must know how badly he is doing inside Ukraine. I mean, more than 50% of the territory that they took from Ukraine in the first weeks and months of the war, the Ukrainians have already returned.”
Footage released Sunday shows Putin driving through the city at night as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin talks about the efforts being made by Russian troops to rebuild the city.
Another video, shown on Russian state television, shows a woman interrupting Putin as he chats with alleged residents near a newly built apartment complex in the besieged Ukrainian city.
“It’s all a lie, it’s all just for show!” According to the BBC, a woman’s voice was heard in the background.
PUTIN AGREES TO CONTINUE EXPORT PERMIT FOR UKRAINIAN GRAIN
Kirby’s comments coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Kremlin on Monday. The KNB spokesman urged the Chinese leader to put pressure on his Russian counterpart to “stop war crimes and atrocities and withdraw his troops.”
Last month, China called for a ceasefire and peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cautiously welcomed Beijing’s intervention, but the initiative fell through.
Chinese President Xi Jinping gestures as he speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 20, 2023. (Sergey Karpukhin, Sputnik, Kremlin pool, photo via AP)
Meanwhile, the Kremlin hailed China’s peace plan, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken saying on Monday that the US “welcomes any initiative that promotes a just and lasting peace.”
He said any proposal to keep Russian troops in Ukraine would simply allow Moscow to rearm and reorganize to resume the offensive.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Blinken said last month that the US has evidence that China is considering providing deadly aid to support Russia in its war against Ukraine. On Monday, Kirby said the US still has no indication that China is moving in that direction.
Anders Hagström of Fox News contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
