The United States today (Saturday) handed over to Ukraine 90 tons of ammunition, an advanced piece, less than a day after talks between Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The ammunition charge landed at Kiev International Airport and the United States Embassy in the country posted a post on the social network Twitter announcing the arrival of the shipment at its destination.
"This shipment of aid was recently announced by President Biden and arrived in Ukraine tonight. It includes no less than 90 tonnes of lethal ammunition for Ukraine's front defenders," the embassy page said.
"This shipment, together with special annual assistance of $ 2.7 billion, is intended to demonstrate the United States' commitment to strengthening Ukraine's security in the face of growing Russian threats," the embassy statement said.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met in Geneva yesterday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for another round of talks on the issue of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, and the danger of the Russian invasion of its neighbor to the west.
Lavrov said at the end of the round of talks that the discussions were "helpful and constructive" and clarified that Russia does not intend to attack Ukraine. He announced that the United States had agreed to provide a written response to Russia's demands, including expelling NATO forces from several Eastern European countries and blocking Ukraine's entry into the alliance. Lavrov claimed that the United States would submit its response to the Kremlin next week. "Right, we have to wait for the United States' response in order to understand this," the minister added.
If Lavrov's statements are accurate, the decision to respond in writing to Moscow's far-reaching demands, something the Biden administration has so far refused to do, could delay Russian action in eastern Ukraine for several days. As the talks opened, both sides expressed pessimism about the possibility of a breakthrough.
Over the past week both sides have escalated rhetoric regarding the possibility of war in Ukraine and the President of the United States has said he assumes that Russia will indeed go into military action in the country.
"I believe Putin will operate in Ukraine. That he will get in there. He must do something. But he has not seen anything like the economic sanctions we are planning in case of invasion," Biden said.
In Kiev it was estimated last week that Russia has 127,000 troops on its western border and that a Russian attack is a real possibility.
Russia also has 3,000 mercenaries and volunteers in the two rebel provinces in eastern Ukraine and tensions in the area of the confrontation line have peaked as both sides wait for possible Russian action.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us