Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to kick off a hastily organized European mission to head off Russian military action against the former Soviet republic.
Mr. Blinken also met with U.S. Embassy staff in the Ukrainian capital as the U.S. and its allies nervously monitored a major buildup of Russian land and naval forces close to the Ukrainian border.
The State Department said Mr. Blinken, who will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday, still is hoping for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but told Mr. Zelenskyy that the Biden administration has prepared harsh moves against Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin initiates military action.
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“In light of Russia’s ongoing and unprovoked military build-up in and around Ukraine, Secretary Blinken emphasized again that if Russia chooses the path of further aggression against Ukraine, the United States, together with our allies and partners, will impose crippling costs on Russia’s economy, reinforce NATO’s presence in front-line allied states, and increase defensive assistance to Ukraine above and beyond what we are already providing,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Wednesday morning.
Mr. Blinken and Mr. Zelenskyy also discussed increased military and economic support for Kyiv, and the secretary of state again promised that no deal between NATO and Russia would be struck without Ukraine‘s endorsement.
Russia has been backing a pro-Moscow separatist movement fighting the Western-backed government in eastern Ukraine. In recent days, the Kremlin has escalated the crisis with a buildup of forces near the border and demands to NATO to guarantee former Soviet states such as Ukraine and Georgia are never offered membership in the Western military alliance.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Wednesday again said the U.S. and its European allies are to blame for the tensions, arguing again that the Kremlin’s legitimate security fears were not being taken seriously by Washington and Brussels.
“It’s true that the situation in the area of European security is critical,” Mr. Ryabkov told a public discussion forum in Moscow. “It’s become so because of Washington and NATO, which among other things use Ukraine as leverage against Russia.”
Mr. Blinken travels Thursday to Berlin to meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and will hold talks with officials from Britain and France.
Mr. Price said that meeting will focus on “joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine” and coordinating the allies’ “readiness to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia” in the event of military action.
In remarks to U.S. Embassy staff, Mr. Blinken acknowledged the stress for American diplomats of operating in a country that could soon face military conflict, particularly when the war could come “with very short notice.”
“I want you to know that your colleagues around the world are thinking of you, looking at what’s going on here, and most important, we as a department in Washington are here for you — very, very focused on the well-being, the safety, the security of our community here, including your families,” he said.