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Former U.S. attorney general gives his take on Biden’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on ‘The Story.’<\/p>\n
Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the United States cannot allow Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine “to escalate into a nuclear war,” warning that now is the time “for prudence” and to avoid any “direct conflict” with Russia.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Fox News Digital about his new memoir, “One Damn Thing After Another,” in which he details long-term national security challenges facing the U.S., Barr said he agreed with the Biden administration’s moves to reject Poland’s proposal to send MiG-29 planes<\/u> to the Ukrainian military. <\/p>\n
The Pentagon this week said Poland’s proposal raised concerns regarding the deployment of warplanes from a U.S. base in a NATO-allied nation to combat Russian forces.<\/p>\n
Ukraine has been pleading with Western allies to send military aid and implement a no-fly zone over the country. The U.S. and its NATO allies have repeatedly said a no-fly zone over Ukraine could bring about a direct conflict with Russia.<\/p>\n
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\n Attorney General William Barr\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
“We have to be very careful about getting into direct conflict with Russia \u2014 Russia is a nuclear power, and we can\u2019t allow this to escalate into a nuclear war,” Barr said. “I do think now is the time for prudence, and that we do not escalate \u2014 I know people see what\u2019s going on, and they feel terrible about it \u2014 but that\u2019s the nature of countries getting nuclear weapons: our options are curtailed.”<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s why having North Korea get nuclear weapons is a problem, and that\u2019s why Biden\u2019s efforts now in reopening these negotiations with Iran and letting Iran become a nuclear power is very sobering,” Barr continued. “After Ukraine, say some things like this happen in Israel \u2014 we would be dealing with a nuclear power.”<\/p>\n
Putin launched Russia\u2019s multi-front war against Ukraine on Feb. 24. His brutal invasion of the country is continuing for a 15th day, and Barr warned that there could be a long road ahead.<\/p>\n
“I think now that Putin has committed, there is no off-ramp for him,” Barr said. “It is hard to see a way he saves face without continuing to push forward.”<\/p>\n
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\n Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law legislation that could punish journalists with up to 15 years in prison for reporting so-called "fake" news about his military invasion of Ukraine. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Meanwhile, Barr said he does not think Russia has “the military power” to move into neighboring countries after the invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n “Even if their military was operating well, I think they\u2019ve diminished themselves in the eyes of the world as a military power, because their military is not functioning very well,” Barr said. “But even on paper, they don\u2019t have the military power to do more than what they\u2019re doing.”<\/p>\n Barr added that, over time, he believes Putin\u2019s strategy will be to “neutralize” and have “a puppet regime in Ukraine like in Belarus.”<\/p>\n “And so, that Ukraine, Belarus, Russia would be his sphere of influence, and then, down the road, I think he could try to destabilize the Baltic States,” Barr said.<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t think there is any risk in the short term of him expanding this to include invasions of other countries,” Barr continued. “I don\u2019t think that there is a game plan to move beyond Ukraine at this point.”<\/p>\n But Barr said Biden’s weakness “invited” Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. <\/p>\n “A lot of our foreign adversaries think President Biden is a weak leader, and I think that\u2019s partly what invited the aggression in Ukraine,” Barr said. “Putin has always made it clear that he would not tolerate Ukraine as a part of NATO, but there was no real urgency on that.”<\/p>\n
\n (Yuri Kochetkov\/Pool)<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/640\/320\/Joe-Biden-Mark-Milley.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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