QUESTION: Blinken himself is a father of two young children and hails from a family that only a few generations ago were themselves refugees. His paternal great grandfather, Meir Blinken, emigrated to New York City from Ukraine, fleeing Russian oppression in 1904. This coming week, the Secretary of State will visit Ukraine to show support for the country currently in the throes of more recent Russian aggression.
President Putin has amassed a very large force at the border with Ukraine, more than 100,000 troops. What is Putin up to?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: You’re right; there are more forces massed on the border with Ukraine than at any time since 2014, when Russia actually invaded. I can’t tell you that we know Mr. Putin’s intentions. There are any number of things that he could do or choose not to do. What we have seen in the last few days is apparently a decision to pull back some of those forces, and we’ve some of them, in fact, start to pull back.
QUESTION: That’s been verified that they are pulling back?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Starting now. We’re watching that very, very carefully.
