On Wednesday, the United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv to address Ukraine’s security concerns in the occupied Donbas region along the border with Russia.
In his opening remarks to reporters before the meeting with Blinken, President Zelensky thanked Washington’s support for Kyiv calling Wednesday’s meeting an indication of “not just words, but concrete support.” He mentioned that the increase in military support from America helps Ukraine’s plans of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and added that his administration allocates the highest budget to its defence sector. Zelensky stressed that he is taking “very fast steps to modernise the army” despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Secretary Blinken welcomed Zelensky’s remarks saying that US President Joe Biden had personally asked him to visit Kyiv to assert America’s support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence,” against continued Russian military aggression. The purpose of this meeting, according to Blinken, was also to discuss in person the previous week’s deliberations with Russia ahead of another high-level meeting on Friday.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed that during the meeting, Blinken affirmed US and NATO’s support towards Ukraine, suggesting measures such as reinforcement of “NATO’s presence in frontline Allied states” and imposing “crippling economic sanctions” on Russia in light of Moscow’s military build-up along the Ukrainian border. Blinken also proposed increasing the current military assistance to Ukraine if Russian aggression continues.
Speaking at the joint conference with Kuleba following the private consultations with Zelensky, Blinken blamed Russia for repeatedly destabilising Ukraine through election interference and cyber-attacks. Blinken warned that the current build-up of 100,000 Russian troops along the Ukrainian border “could double on relatively short order.” Blinken added that Washington has conducted more than a “hundred diplomatic consultations” with various European allies and partners to discuss a unified response to Russia.
Separately on Wednesday, during a news conference marking his one year in office, US President Biden said, “My guess is he will move in, he has to do something,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next steps regarding the crisis in Ukraine. According to NBC News, Biden’s comments indicate that the US is anticipating a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine in spite of the recent high-level diplomatic talks over Putin’s security demands. Biden warned that Putin will pay a “dear price” if he moves forward with the Ukraine invasion.
Secretary Blinken is set to meet German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the Transatlantic Quad in Berlin on Thursday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine issue. Blinken is also scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday in an attempt to break the diplomatic deadlock over Putin’s security proposal and “urge” Moscow to reduce its hostility along the Ukrainian border.