Veteran Russia hawk to retire after decades at the State Department

WASHINGTON>> Victoria Nuland, the third-ranking official at the State Department and a determined advocate of tough policies toward Vladimir Putin’s Russia, will retire this month after more than 30 years of government service.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Nuland’s departure from the post of undersecretary for political affairs on Tuesday in a statement noting her “fierce passion” for freedom, democracy and human rights, and America’s promotion of those causes abroad.

Blinken singled out her work on Ukraine, which he called “indispensable to confronting Putin’s full-scale invasion” of the country.

Nuland made her mark as a Russia specialist who long argued for marshaling strong resistance to Putin’s territorial ambitions and foreign political influence.