Russia planning ‘aggressive moves’ against Ukraine, Blinken says
Al JazeeraUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington ‘will be prepared to act’ if Russia invades Ukraine. Russia has plans to take “significant aggressive moves” against Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned, as tensions between Washington and Moscow continue to mount before a top-level meeting this week. After a meeting of NATO ministers in Riga, Latvia, on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was “deeply concerned by evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine”. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the transatlantic security alliance to put together a “deterrence package” and increase military cooperation with Ukraine to prevent Russian aggression. “Should Russia reject diplomacy and reinvade Ukraine, we will be prepared to act.” Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said his country would stand with Moscow in any conflict with Kyiv.