The war in Ukraine – Putin’s depravity in Ukraine questions his rationality of the war according to the US Defense Department.
“It’s difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking, serious, mature leader would do that. So I can’t talk to his psychology. But I think we can all speak to his depravity,” said Kirby at a Pentagon news briefing before pausing for nearly 10 seconds.
“It’s hard to square his … BS that this is about Nazism in Ukraine, and it’s about protecting Russians in Ukraine, and it’s about defending Russian national interests, when none of them, none of them were threatened by Ukraine,” said Kirby.
Kirby listed some of what he called “unconscionable” actions by Russian forces, including civilians being “shot in the back of the head, hands tied behind their backs. Women, pregnant women being killed, hospitals being bombed.”
Kirby subsequently apologized for what he said was injecting his “personal perspective,” and would not elaborate further on the US assessment of Putin’s mental state.
Though Indonesia’s president said Friday that President Vladimir Putin had accepted an offer to attend the G20 conference, the White House secretly told Indonesia that Russia should not be permitted to attend.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, highlighted that the conference was still six months away and declined to comment on whether President Biden will attend. However, she stated that he was adamant that Russia should not be present.
“The President has expressed publicly his opposition to President Putin attending the G20,” she said.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said, “Indonesia wants to unite the G20. Don’t let there be a split. Peace and stability are the keys to the recovery and development of the world economy.”