Secretary of State John Blinken told the Ukrainian government on Thursday that the United States strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Blinken also said the U.S. opposes Russia’s “reckless and aggressive actions” to deploy heavy troops along Ukraine’s border.
Blinken’s trip came weeks after the Russian military crushed Ukraine, but the U.S. did not announce new military assistance to Ukraine.
Ukraine is a focal point of the game between the United States and Russia.
Russia mobilized more than 100,000 troops to the Russian-Ukrainian border a few weeks ago, leading to a serious escalation of tensions along the border between the two countries. Both sides have expelled diplomats from each other. Secretary of State John Blinken made an emergency trip to NATO in mid-April, when the U.S. and NATO unanimously condemned Russia’s move and said they would uphold Ukraine’s territorial and sovereign integrity.
Senior U.S. officials say Russia’s military deployment, with its speed and number of troops, exceeds the level of the invasion of Crimea seven years ago.
Some analysts believe Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move is a test of U.S. President Joe Biden’s will and an attempt to ratchet up the pressure on Ukraine.
Although Moscow has since announced it has begun withdrawing its troops from the border, the U.S. says not all of Russia’s troops and armored vehicles have been withdrawn.
In a meeting with Ukrainian President Dzerensky on Thursday, Secretary of State John Blinken said, “We will continue to strengthen our security partnership and work closely with Ukraine to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself against aggression. We know that Russia has withdrawn some troops from the Ukrainian border, but we also see that there are still significant numbers of Russian troops and equipment there. We are watching the situation very closely.”
Map of Ukraine: EU member states, Crimea, Russia
Ukraine wants to join NATO as soon as possible. Moscow says that is an unacceptable “red line.”
Blinken called on Russia to abandon its reckless and aggressive actions against Ukraine. On the other hand, Blinken stressed the need for Ukraine to work on reforming corruption.
Blinken arrived in Kiev at the end of the G-7 foreign ministers’ meeting. A day earlier, the G7 foreign ministers issued a joint statement condemning Russia for destabilizing the region, illegally annexing Crimea, undermining the democratic institutions of other countries, and carrying out malicious cyber attacks and disinformation.
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