US Seeks ‘Relentless Diplomacy’ To Avoid Ukraine-Russia War
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent a Worthy News
KYIV (Worthy News) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that Russia could invade Ukraine “on very short notice” but warned Moscow of tough sanctions if it did.
Blinken said the United States would continue “relentless” diplomacy to prevent “Russian aggression” in Ukraine after meeting in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
However, if Russia shows “aggressive intent” toward Ukraine, the U.S. will send additional material to the ex-Soviet nation beyond what is already planned, Blinken told reporters in Kyiv.
Blinken, who also met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, spoke after Ukraine said 127,000 Russian troops massed at its borders ahead of an expected invasion.
Moscow claims it has “no intention” to invade but demands that the U.S.-led NATO military alliance expand into Ukraine.
NATO says it’s up to Ukraine to decide whether to become a member. Amid the stand-off, talks between the West and Russia last week failed to yield noticeable results.
ON EDGE
The West remains on edge after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 after overthrowing a pro-Russian government in Ukraine.
Moscow has supported pro-Russian separatists in the east in a conflict with government forces that killed some 14,000 people and caused at least two million people to flee their homes.
A senior U.S. official told Worthy News there are already special Russian paramilitary forces in eastern Ukraine to provoke a pretext for a Russian invasion. He said an attack could begin as early as next month during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
In separate remarks, Blinken expressed concern that “there are plans in place to increase” the build-up of Russian forces fast. He said that would give Russian “President [Vladimir] Putin the capacity, also on very short notice, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine.”
Blinken said Russia was trying to weaken Ukraine’s diplomatic institutions and divide Ukrainian society “using everything from election interference to disinformation to cyber-attacks”.
Blinken will meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday after talks with European allies in Berlin.
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