United States Secretary of State Anthony Antony Blinken is set to visit Ukraine this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid the escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over the possibility of Russia invading its neighboring country.
According to the State Department, the trip aims to show the United States' support for Ukraine after security talks in Geneva between Moscow and the Western powers last week failed to de-escalate the conflict over Ukraine, as well as other matters of security.
Blinken's "travel and consultations are part of the diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the tension caused by Russia's military build-up and continued aggression against Ukraine," the State Department reads.
After the Ukraine visit, Blinken will meet German, British, and French counterparts in Berlin to prepare a possible response if Russia pursues military actions as per the Associated Press.
The State Department said the US senior official will meet with President Zelenskyy and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday to strengthen the commitment of the United States to Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity."
According to reports, Russia has mobilized around 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border. Multiple observers see the move as a preparation for an invasion.
Russia Accuses US of Disinformation
After a massive cyberattack on Ukraine's government websites last week, allegedly launched by Moscow, the Biden administration has accused Russia of preparing a "false flag operation" to employ as a pretext for the invasion of Ukraine.
According to the White House, US intelligence authorities have concluded that Russia has already deployed operatives to rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to engage in acts of sabotage and blame them on Kyiv, as per Politico.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the allegations of the U.S. as "total disinformation." The high-ranking Russian official underscored that Moscow expects a written response this week from the US and its allies in the West regarding Russia's request for guarantees that NATO will reject Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also issued a warning before that Moscow will carry "military-technical measures" if the West blocks its demands.
Moscow Denies New York Times Report
Meanwhile, Russia announced on Tuesday that its embassy in Kyiv has normally been operating after a media report stated that Moscow had initiated the evacuation of staff families at its diplomatic assignments in Ukraine as per Reuters.
The New York Times mentioned a top senior Ukrainian official claiming that 18 people, mostly family members of Russian diplomats, had left Ukraine on January 5. While 30 more fled the embassy in Kyiv and consulate in Lviv in western Ukraine in the succeeding days.
According to the report of the US publication, diplomats at two other Russian consulates were alerted to prepare to leave Ukraine.
The Russian foreign ministry, however, did not comment regarding the situation of its consulates in Ukraine, but it informed Interfax its embassy in Kyiv is functioning as usual, but it did not provide additional details.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry remarked that it had received no information from Moscow regarding the evacuation of its diplomatic outposts in Ukraine. It went on to say that Kyiv had no plans to evacuate Ukrainian envoys from Russia.
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