Pentagon spokesman becomes visibly emotional as he talks about Putin's 'depravity'
Nicole Darrah
·Breaking News Editor
Fri, April 29, 2022, 12:52 PM
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby on Friday became visibly emotional as he talked about the horrors that have been unfolding in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Kirby was asked if he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “rational actor” after launching a war that has
reportedly killed at least 10,000 civilians in Ukraine, including at least
two Americans.
“It’s hard to look at what he’s doing in Ukraine, what his forces are doing in Ukraine, and think that any ethical, moral individual could justify that. It’s difficult to look at,” Kirby said, his voice starting to strain.
He paused for around 10 seconds and said “sorry” to reporters as he looked away from them, seemingly needing a moment to gather his thoughts. He went on to say that it is “difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking, serious, mature leader would do that. So, I can’t talk to his psychology, but I think we can all speak to his depravity.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby pauses during an emotional moment while talking about Russia's war in Ukraine at a press briefing on Friday. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Kirby, a retired Navy admiral, added that he “didn’t mean to get emotional; I apologize for that. I don’t want to make this about me.” The spokesman said he’s “been around the military a long, long time, and I’ve known friends who didn’t make it back.”
“It’s just hard,” he added, noting the journalists who “have people there who are seeing this and bringing these images back — it’s just difficult to look at it.”
“It’s hard to square [Putin’s], let’s just call it what it is, his B.S., that this
is about Nazism and Ukraine, and it’s about protecting Russians in Ukraine and it’s about defending Russian national interests when none of them — none of them — were threatened by Ukraine,” Kirby added, while lightly pounding his fist on the podium.
“It’s hard to square that rhetoric by what he’s actually doing inside Ukraine to innocent people: shot in the back of the head;
hands tied behind their backs; women,
pregnant women being killed; hospitals being bombed. I mean, it’s just unconscionable,” he said. “It’s just beyond me.”
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