Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley SLAMS Biden’s leadership as war in Ukraine drags on

Nikki Haley, former United Nations ambassador to the United States, criticized President Joe Biden’s leadership in the Ukraine conflict on Sunday and said it was “absolute madness” that the country continued to buy Russian oil after Vladimir Putin launched an invasion last month.

In an interview with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures, Haley said the United States should never have trusted Russia or Putin.

“It all happened because of us,” the former South Carolina governor said.

“It happened from the way the United States left Afghanistan,” she explained, saying the United States had abandoned its allies.

“It happened when Biden gave up Nord Stream 2, which President Trump fought against,” Haley continued, referring to a Russian-owned pipeline that spans Europe.

“It happened falling on itself getting the deal with Iran,” she added.

“Now we need strength and deterrence and we’re not getting it.”

Instead, she said, it’s time for the president ‘stop reacting and start leading.’

Haley, right, told Maria Bartiromo, left, that the president needs to give Ukrainians better intelligence and stop taking Russian oil money

She said Biden’s foreign policy decisions allowed Russian forces to invade the country and said it was time for him to “stop reacting and start leading.”

“First, work with Ukraine on real-time intelligence so we can tell them everything that’s going on that they can’t see,” she suggested.

“Make sure we tell Poland and NATO that they have to supply these planes to Ukraine. They need it right away so they can cover their own airspace.

“We have to make sure that we sanction these energy companies, all of them.

“We have to make sure we get them out of the international banking system and we have to stop taking Russian oil.

“The idea that we would give our money to an enemy is unthinkable and it is absolute madness,” Haley said. “We cannot allow this to continue.”

Shelling continued across Ukraine on Sunday. A factory and store burn here after being bombed in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv

His comments came just hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the country is in talks with Poland to orchestrate a deal that would allow Polish fighter jets to be flown by pilots from the Ukrainian Air Force in order to fight against Russian air superiority. .

The deal would see Ukraine take all 28 Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland, which would in turn be replaced with a new set of F-16s by the United States.

Blinker told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, “It gets the green light. In fact, we are currently discussing with our Polish friends what we could do to meet their needs if they chose to supply these combat aircraft to the Ukrainians. What can we do?

“How can we help make sure they get something to fill the planes they hand over to the Ukrainians?”

The White House is currently working on the practicalities of reaching a deal, including the crucial question of how the Ukrainians could physically get their hands on the planes.

“There are a number of difficult practical questions, including how the planes could actually be transferred from Poland to Ukraine.”

“We are also working on what capabilities we could provide to replace Poland if it decides to transfer planes to Ukraine,” a White House spokesperson said. Financial Times.

A mother and two children were killed and the father was injured by a mortar shell as hundreds of civilians sought safety

A serviceman of the Ukrainian military forces stood next to a body after fighting against Russian troops. The United States is currently negotiating an agreement with Ukraine and Poland to supply the Ukrainians with fighter jets

Meanwhile, citizens continue to hide underground from Russian artillery bombardment as others try to escape the fighting

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday warned countries including NATO member Romania against hosting military planes from Kiev, saying they could end up embroiled in a armed conflict.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video briefing that some Ukrainian warplanes had redeployed to Romania and other Ukrainian neighbors he did not identify.

He warned that if these warplanes attacked the Russian forces from the territory of these nations, it “could be considered as the engagement of these countries in the military conflict”.

Konashenkov said: “We know for sure that Ukrainian fighter jets flew into Romania and other neighboring countries.

“The use of the airfield network of these countries to base Ukrainian military aviation with the subsequent use of force against the Russian military can be considered as the involvement of these states in an armed conflict.”

The spokesman also claimed that “virtually all” of Ukraine’s combat-ready aircraft had been destroyed as Russian troops continued to bombard the country with heavy fire and missiles.

Heartbreaking footage, taken in Irpin on the outskirts of the capital Kiev on Sunday, confirmed Russian forces were attacking heavily populated civilian areas where men, women and children are fleeing the country as the Russian tyrant continues to deny shelling Ukrainian cities.

One image showed a mother and her two children lying dead on the pavement after they were killed in Irpin as they tried to flee the town, while their father was injured by a mortar shell as hundreds of civilians searched for the security.

Another attempt to evacuate refugees from Mariupol was again scuttled today after the town was shelled minutes after an agreed ceasefire.

Some 400,000 residents were due to be evacuated from 12pm today, with an initial agreement in place until 9pm local time, but residents must now take refuge in bomb shelters without electricity or water.

Blinken now says there are “very credible reports” that Russia committed war crimes during its invasion.