Secretary of State Antony Blinken commemorated the anniversary of D-Day on Thursday by comparing the offensive effort to the war in Ukraine.
Blinken appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe from Normandy, France, where the Allies began their strategy to reclaim France from German occupation. The offensive commenced with troops from the U.S. and Britain arriving on Normandy’s beaches by air and by sea.
“You know there’s a really powerful parallel too between what we’re commemorating today and what we’re doing now,” Blinken said. “Back then, it wasn’t just the United States. Here in Normandy, 12 countries came together, 160,000 men arriving on this beach, starting the final fight that ultimately, 11 months later, led to victory in World War II. In Ukraine, we have more than 50 countries standing up, standing together, ensuring that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself and to push back this aggression. And that’s the power of our alliances. And that’s the biggest difference maker we have in the world.”
In April, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which allocated $60.84 billion for the war against Russia. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom sanctioned several Russian oligarchs, even seizing their assets. Three successive prime ministers approved the provisions of weapons, intelligence, and economic aid to Ukraine. Blinken suggested that other countries outside of the historical alliance do not have the same international support.
“Our adversaries, our competitors, they don’t have the same kind of voluntary alliances,” Blinken said. “Yes, sometimes they coerce countries into helping them or maybe they pay them off. Here, we have country after country that volunteers to stand together, stand together in defense of principles that we share and know need defending. We’re seeing that in Ukraine. We saw that 80 years ago here in Normandy.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced two weeks ago that he still has “combat control” of the Kharkiv region despite Russian troops invading earlier this month.
Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city. Some 11,000 people evacuated the border nearest Russia into the city once troops entered the town of Vovchansk, which is about 12 miles away.
