US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken kicked off a tour of Europe on Wednesday with a visit to Kyiv, as concern over Russia’s intentions vis-à-vis Ukraine continues to grow.
The statements ofAnthony Blinken following his meeting with his counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and President Volodomyr Zelensky are not likely to reassure. For the US Secretary of State, Ukraine is facing a ” unprecedented threat » and to a «risk of invasionnow imminent. “I sincerely hope that we can stay on a peaceful and diplomatic path, but in the end, it is a decision that is up to President Putin.“, did he declare.
The head of American diplomacy also claimed that Russia could quickly mobilize twice as many soldiers as the approximately 100,000 currently deployed near the Ukrainian border. Washington is concerned about the transfer of Russian soldiers and equipment to Belarus, not far from Ukraine.
Russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an invasion. While denying any plan of attack, the Kremlin insists that a de-escalation requires written guarantees for its security, in particular on the non-enlargement of NATO to Ukraine. Moscow has made its demands non-negotiable, and the United States has deemed them essentially unacceptable.
Additional military aid
In this context, Washington announced “a provision of $200 million in additional defensive security aidto Ukraine, new assistance in addition to the $450 million in aid already granted. Anthony Blinken, on the other hand, remained quite discreet about the type of sanctions that could be taken against the Russians in the event of military aggression.
The US Secretary of State also urged Ukrainians not to give in to divisions. An allusion no doubt to the highly politicized legal proceedings that the executive has initiated against former President Poroshenko, and which strongly displeases Western diplomats.
In the Ukrainian capital, life goes on. At least in appearance. Because the possibility of a war returns more and more in the discussions. And certain indicators do not deceive, observe our correspondent on the spot, Stephane Siohan. The national currency, the hryvna, has started to depreciate sharply in recent days, a sign of declining confidence in the country. In a video broadcast this Wednesday evening on social networks, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his fellow citizens not to panic.