Blinken in Kiev: US Increases Military Assistance to Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to choose “diplomatic and peaceful path”, as the top American diplomat visits Ukraine, at the time of concerns that Russia could conquer this former Soviet republic.

I strongly believe that we can keep this matter at diplomatic and peaceful levels, but this will be in the hands of President Putin”, Blinken said after meeting with US Embassy staff in Kiev on January 19th.

“We know there are plans to increase the number of forces even more in a short period, and that gives President Putin the capacity for a short period to advance aggression against Ukraine”, he has warned.

Earlier, a senior American official has said the administration of President Joe Biden has approved an additional $200m in security aid to Kiev last month, saying Washington remains “dedicated to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, has not provided details about the content of the aid package.

Blinken met in Kiev with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has thanked the United States for increasing military aid to Ukraine in this difficult “”.

In response to aid information, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has called on the West not to supply Ukraine with weapons, while the situation about security in Europe has considered “critical”, the Interfax news agency has said.

On January 20th, Blinken heads toward Berlin to talk to Western officials about unity on the issue.

On January 21st, the top US diplomat will meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva.

They both spoke over the phone on January 18.

Since Russia has gathered about 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and a number of forces for rapid training in Belarus, the West is alarmed at the risk of a new conflict.

This is an extremely dangerous situation. We are at a point when Russia can attack Ukraine at any moment”, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said before reporters on January 18th.

The occupation of Russia's forces near the Ukrainian border and the annexed Crimea region is one of the largest positions of Russian forces since March 2014, when Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula.

Russia is also supporting separatist fighters in the ongoing battle east of Ukraine since 2014.

Since then, more than 13,200 people have died.

Moscow has denied plans to attack Ukraine, has charged NATO is planning to accept this country as a member of the alliance, as well as is expected to deploy weapons of attack there.

Last week, Russian diplomats have met with senior officials from the United States, NATO and European nations, to discuss Moscow's demands, which imply restructuring of the security architecture in Europe.