U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Visit Ukraine After Russian Troops Rally on Border May 5, 2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Ukraine Wednesday night after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in London. His trip is to show support for Kiev after weeks of Russian troop pressure.
As the first senior U.S. official to visit Ukraine since Joe Biden took office, he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials on Thursday, as well as with pro-reform and anti-corruption activists.
According to his European adviser Philip Reeker, Blinken will reaffirm in Kiev “the strong support of the United States for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.”
For experts such as former Ukrainian Ambassador Kostyan Yeliseyev, Blinken’s trip is “a very good signal of support for Ukraine. Kostyan Yeliseyev is also the founder of the Center for New Solutions.
Blinken’s visit comes less than two weeks after an escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The tensions between the two countries began when pro-Westerners took power in Kiev and Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.
In the weeks of April, Russia deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border in what it officially described as “military exercises,” raising fears in Ukraine and the West about a possible Russian invasion.
The massive Russian military deployment has been accompanied by renewed violence in eastern Ukraine. Kiev has been fighting pro-Russian separatists backed by Moscow in the east of the country since 2014.
After a war of words and threats, there was a sigh of relief when Moscow finally announced its withdrawal on April 23. But the U.S. and Kiev and NATO have said they will remain vigilant. Ukraine wants to join NATO as soon as possible. But Moscow described this as an unacceptable “red line.
According to Ukrainian experts, Moscow withdrew its troops at the border but left its weaponry in place, similar to what it did before Russia’s brief war with Georgia in the summer of 2008.
The Russian side, for its part, has repeatedly reiterated Russia’s right to conduct military exercises on its own territory, wherever it sees fit. Moscow insisted that the Russian side “is not threatening anyone.”
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