Vladimir Putin's U.S. foreign policy appeared to be taking hold nicely Wednesday as White House press secretary Sean Spicer quickly punted on questions about rising violence in eastern Ukraine while national security adviser Michael Flynn condemned a recent Iran missile test.
Flynn rushed into the White House briefing Wednesday to say the administration was "officially putting Iran on notice" about a missile launch on Sunday, adding that the Obama administration had “failed to respond adequately” to Tehran. But when it came to the “outburst of violence” in the Ukraine, Spicer said only "The president has been kept aware" of the situation. We assume he meant Pr*sident Trump, but who knows? (Flynn delivered a paid speech in Moscow in 2015 at a gala where was seated next to bestie Vladimir Putin.) So yeah, the recent eruption in the Ukraine? Meh. The Washington Post editorial board's got it all wrong:
Russian guns that had been quiescent for weeks suddenly erupted Sunday near the government-controlled town of Avdiivka, north of the separatist-held city of Donetsk. The shelling soon spread south to Mariupol, a key government-held city on the coast of the Sea of Azov. One sign the offensive was serious and Kremlin-directed: Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were swamped with threatening text messages characteristic of Russian electronic warfare units.
Hmm, Russian digital incursions sound familiar to anyone?
While Flynn and Spicer tag teamed setting our new foreign policy priorities, the State Department issued a distress signal Tuesday on the Ukraine:
In part, the statement read, “The fighting has caused dozens of Ukrainian military casualties and 10 civilian casualties. It has also left 17,000 civilians, including 2,500 children, without water, heat, or electricity. To avert a larger humanitarian crisis, we call for an immediate, sustained ceasefire and full and unfettered access for OSCE monitors.”
The State Department curiously did not mention Russia, perhaps a little gun shy after last week’s purge of top State Department officials. Putin was super pleased by the statement’s “neutrality.”
And the translation of a statement from Putin ally Alexey Pushkov:
“Important shift.” Incidentally, Pushkov is also a huge fan of Rex Tillerson, who was just confirmed as secretary of state.
"Trump continues to amaze," said the head of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian parliament's lower house, Alexey Pushkov, who added that Tillerson would be a "sensation."