Accessibility links

Breaking News

Blinken: US ‘Concerned’ About Russian Military Activity Near Ukraine

update

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hold a news conference following U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Dialogue talks at the State Department in Washington, Nov. 10, 2021.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hold a news conference following U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Dialogue talks at the State Department in Washington, Nov. 10, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. was concerned about Russian military movements near Ukraine's border.

"We're concerned by reports of unusual Russian military activity," Blinken said at the State Department after a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, adding that the U.S. was "monitoring very closely" the Russia activity.

"As we always do, we'll continue to consult closely as well with allies and partners on this issue," Blinken said. "As we make clear, any escalatory or aggressive actions will be of great concern to the United States."

He said the U.S. was seeking to de-escalate tensions between the two countries.

Blinken Warns Russia Against ‘Serious Mistake’ of Invading Ukraine
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:03:31 0:00

Also discussed at the bilateral meeting was ensuring Ukraine's energy supply, and the two officials signed a U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership document.

Blinken’s remarks about Russian military activity were echoed at the Pentagon.

“It's got our attention, no question about that,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Wednesday.

"What we continue to see is unusual military activity inside Russia but near Ukraine's borders and we remain concerned about that,” Kirby said. “It’s unusual in its size and scope.”

“It's not exactly clear what the Russian intentions are,” he added. “And we don't want to see any action further destabilize what is already a very tense part of the world.”

Russia has backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since its 2014 annexation of Crimea. Russia denies it has any troops in Ukraine.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG