Two soldiers of the Ukrainian army who received military aid from the United States.
The United States has delivered 90 tons of what it described as “lethal aid” to Ukraine, a day after Russian-American talks in Geneva on the Ukraine crisis.
The shipment, which arrived in Kiev today, is the first in the wake of a new promise by US President Joe Biden to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
The US embassy in Kiev said that the shipment included ammunition for the Ukrainian forces on the front lines to enable them to confront any Russian aggression.
In recent days, the United States agreed to proposals from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to send American-made weapons to Ukraine, including anti-armor and anti-aircraft missiles.
Moscow has massed 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, but denies any plans to invade its neighbour.
It is reported that Joe Biden has traveled to Camp David, where he is scheduled to meet with his national security team over the weekend to discuss tensions with Russia over Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his US counterpart Anthony Blinken in Geneva, where they held frank talks in an attempt to reduce the chances of a wider conflict in Ukraine.
Lavrov repeated Moscow’s denials that the massive Russian forces massed near the border with Ukraine would be used to invade that country.
Blinken said the United States would respond forcefully to any invasion of Ukraine.
Pro-Russian rebels have controlled large parts of eastern Ukraine since a fierce war broke out there nearly eight years ago.
picture released, Getty Images
About 14,00 people were killed during the conflict in Ukraine.
About 14,000 people were killed and at least 2 million people were displaced from their homes before fragile peace agreements could be reached through mediation.
The United States and its allies have threatened to impose new sanctions on Moscow if the Russian army takes military action towards Ukraine.
Washington is expected to present its position in writing to Moscow next week, to be followed by additional talks between the two parties.
Putin’s demands
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced demands from the West that he says worry Russia’s security, including not allowing Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Putin wants the Western defense alliance to abandon military exercises and stop sending weapons to Eastern European countries, considering this a direct threat to Russian security.
The United States had announced the holding of large-scale naval exercises for NATO in the Mediterranean, starting Monday, with the participation of the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman.
US officials emphasized that the exercises had nothing to do with Ukraine.
But the US announcement of the naval maneuvers came one day after Russia announced that it would conduct comprehensive naval maneuvers with the participation of more than 140 warships and about 10,000 soldiers during the months of January and next February in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. .
With growing fears of a possible Russian invasion of pro-Western Ukraine, Blinken renewed his country’s warnings of strong Western responses when he met his Russian counterpart.
The Russian Foreign Ministry later said that Lavrov had warned his US counterpart of “the most serious consequences” if Washington ignored Moscow’s security demands, which include “withdrawing foreign forces, weapons and equipment” from countries that were not members of NATO before 1997.
The Biden administration said it was ready to talk to Moscow about its security concerns.
Washington suggestions
One suggestion from Washington is to revive missile restrictions in Europe enshrined in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a Cold War treaty that was scrapped by the administration of former President Donald Trump after Russia was accused of violating the treaty.
picture released, Getty Images
Geneva talks aimed at easing tension in Ukraine.
Blinken reiterated the US position after the talks in Geneva, saying that the US was ready to discuss possible ways to address Russian concerns in a spirit of reciprocity.
Analysts said that could include more transparency about military exercises in the region.
Blinken urged Russia to stop what he described as its aggression against Ukraine, saying its build-up of forces gave it the ability to attack its neighbor from the south, east and north.
The first US diplomat said the United States knows from experience that Moscow, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014, also has a “mass stockpile” of non-military means to advance its interests, including cyber attacks.
Blinken confirmed that his country will continue to send “security assistance” to Ukraine in the coming weeks. America sent anti-armor missile systems as well as light weapons and ammunition to Ukraine last year.
Blinken said the talks also touched on Iran and negotiations over its nuclear capabilities, which he described as an example that the United States and Russia can work together on security issues.
For his part, Lavrov described the talks with Blinken as frank and useful, but accused NATO of working against Russia. He reiterated Moscow’s position that it had “never threatened the Ukrainian people” and had no plans to attack Ukraine.
The Russian foreign minister accused the Ukrainian government of using “state terrorism” against rebels in the east and “sabotaging” the Minsk peace agreements on the conflict there.
The United States said Thursday that Russian intelligence officers are working to recruit current and former officials in the Ukrainian government to intervene as an interim government and cooperate with a Russian occupation force in the event of an invasion.
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on two current members of Ukraine’s parliament and former government officials, accusing them of involvement in the plot.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the Russian parliament introduced a draft resolution asking President Putin to recognize the independence of two pro-Moscow regions of Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk.
On Friday, Ukraine’s military intelligence service accused Russia of sending new weapons and equipment to the separatists.
Blinken arrived in Geneva after a trip to Ukraine to show support for Kiev, which followed talks he held with Britain, France and Germany in Berlin.
European reinforcements
Several European countries have moved to enhance NATO’s military deployment in Eastern Europe. Spain said it would send warships to join NATO naval forces in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and Denmark announced it would send a frigate to the Baltic Sea.
French President Emmanuel Macron has offered to send French soldiers to Romania.
Britain announced last week that it would provide Ukraine with more soldiers for training and defensive weapons.
In Friday’s speech, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop and turn away from Ukraine before he commits a colossal strategic mistake” that could lead to horrific loss of life.
On Wednesday, President Biden raised questions about the stability of the US position on Ukraine when he predicted Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, but appeared to imply that a “minor incursion” might draw a weak response from the United States and its allies.
The message sparked criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who tweeted: “No small incursions. Just as there are no small losses and little grief over the loss of loved ones.”
Biden then sought to clarify his comments by saying that moving Russian forces across the border with Ukraine would be considered an invasion, and that Moscow would “pay a heavy price” if that happened.