Blinken Uses State Department Remarks To Counter Russian Misinformation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken continues his presser by stating that NATO is "stronger than ever" and will react forcefully to Russian plans to expand its military operation in Ukraine.

• Blinken says Moscow is laying the groundwork to add more Ukrainian territory.
• The next steps, according to Blinken: Russia will hold sham referenda in occupied territories "to manufacture the fiction that the people in those places want to join Russia, then they will use those false votes to claim that the annexation of those regions is legitimate."
• Blinken: "Annexation by force is a gross violation of the UN charter."
• Blinken says that sanctions on Russia are "having a powerful and growing economic effect," accusing Russia of "cherry-picking economic data to support insistence that everything is fine."
• "Russia claims it is running a budget surplus but in fact the budget is in deficit."
• Blinken: "Russia says the ruble is the worlds strongest performing currency, in fact the currency market is controlled by the govt and Russian households are restricted from converting rubles to dollars the ruble is trading at a much lower value than before the war."