Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared on Sunday that a "green light" has been given to NATO members wanting to send fighter jets to Ukraine in an effort to support the nation during Russia's invasion.
Blinken shared the news while speaking on CBS News' "Face the Nation." He said that the okay had been given when asked about whether or not Poland could send fighter planes to Ukraine.
"In fact, we're talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians," Blinken said.
He added that this has opened the door for more questions the U.S. is asking on how it can support its NATO allies and Ukraine.
"What can we do? How can we help to make sure that they get something to backfill the planes that they are handing over to the Ukrainians?" Blinken asked.
The Biden administration is currently working to provide backfill for Poland if the nation moves forward with transferring planes to Ukraine, a White House spokesperson told CBS News.
However, several questions still arise from the decision to do so, including how the jets would get to Ukraine from Poland.
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Blinken was with U.S. allies in eastern Europe and said that NATO countries and members of the Group of 7 are "working together" to raise pressure on Russia for its invasion.
Pressure was put on Russia when the U.S. and its European allies placed heavy sanctions on the nation in an attempt to cut it off from the global financial system, which has all but crippled the country's economy. The sanctions resulted in Putin referring to them as "like a war" on Saturday.
Now, Blinken said those he met with would implement new sanctions on Russia within the coming days.
"The impact of the sanctions is already devastating. The ruble is in freefall. Their stock market's been shuttered for almost a week," Blinken said to CBS. "We're seeing a recession set in in Russia. Consumers aren't able to buy basic products because companies are fleeing Russia, so it's having a big impact."
However, the sanctions have not done much to deter the Russian president from invading Ukraine, as Blinken shared that Putin is "doubling down and digging in on this aggression against Ukraine."
As for a possible end to the sanctions and invasion of Ukraine, Blinken is not hopeful it will end anytime soon.
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"I think we have to be prepared, unfortunately, tragically, for this to go on for some time," the secretary of state said.
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