U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv on Jan. 19 and met with Ukraine's top officials, amid the ongoing Russian threat. Blinken met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed military aid, Ukraine's slowly-moving reforms, and the possible sanctions against Russia should it further
The assistance was approved in late December but the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden only confirmed it on Jan. 19, without sharing any details. Ukraine will get this package in addition to the $300 million in military aid that the U.S. also approved in December as part
The White House has confirmed on Jan. 19 that Russia has embassy evacuation plans from Ukraine, amid Kremlin's ongoing military escalation. “We have information indicating that the Russian authorities were preparing to evacuate family members of diplomats from their (Kyiv) embassy in late December and early January,” Jen Psaki, White
As Ukraine is encircled by Russian forces, it’s relying on Western allies to send weapons or threaten Russia with extreme sanctions to hold an invasion at bay. Many people in the German government don’t want to do either. This weakens the West’s threat of economic retaliation and
A group of U.S. senators is visiting Kyiv to show support for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian military buildup. A bipartisan delegation consisting of seven U.S. senators — Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy, Amy Klobuchar, Richard Blumenthal, Rob Portman, Kevin Cramer, and Roger Wicker — met with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba
The first thing I do every morning is grab my phone to read the latest news. And every morning I read about yet another ominous threat of Russia invading my home, Ukraine. It’s either Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Ukraine joining NATO would mean death to Russia as we
Ukraine proposed to hold trilateral talks with the U.S. and Russia to resolve the conflict in Donbas. Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said so to U.S. diplomat John Herbst during an Atlantic Council webinar on Jan. 14. “We called for U.S. participation and
I have certainly put myself out there as having the most hawkish view on Russia (compared to the street consensus), but I still find it difficult to see anything but escalation by Russia with Ukraine from the current postures. Why? First, I just don’t see much room for compromise
Russia has neither accepted nor rejected de-escalation on Ukraine after meeting with NATO in Brussels on Jan. 12, according to U.S. Deputy State Secretary Wendy Sherman. The meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, the first since July 2019, is part of a week-long flurry of diplomacy in Europe. On Jan.
A new bill that's about to be introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives advocates for the U.S. to increase military funding to Ukraine and implement strict measures against Russia immediately, according to Politico. The bill, titled "Guaranteeing Ukrainian Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense Act" (GUARD), is signed
Josep Borrell, the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, will visit Ukraine from Jan. 4 to Jan. 6 in a show of support for Kyiv amid Russia’s military build-up along its border, the European Commission announced on Jan. 3. Borell will first visit
The U.S. government has agreed to give $20 million to strengthen Ukraine’s border with Russia and Belarus, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said on Dec. 28. The news comes against a backdrop of looming Russian aggression. Since November, Ukrainian and Western intelligence have warned of a drastic
Ukraine, a European nation of 41 million, has been at the mercy of geopolitical forces far more than most similarly sized countries on the continent. The country is currently making global headlines due to Russia’s build-up of 122,000 troops on its borders, seemingly ready to launch an invasion.
Russia will meet with the U.S. to discuss "security guarantees" amid the ongoing tensions on the Ukrainian-Russian border on Jan. 11, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The meeting will take place one day before the planned NATO-Russia council summit. In a Dec. 27 interview with a Russian
Amid the ongoing security crisis, Moscow has suggested a grant agreement with the West that de facto aims to reinstate its Cold War time exclusive sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and also prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO. After voicing a series of public demands and holding negotiations with
Nine U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Dec. 15 allocating $450 million to increase material support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including funding for weaponry, training, and military reform in 2022. The Guaranteeing Ukraine’s Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense Act (GUARD Act) includes $100 million for anti-air defense
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki denied reports that U.S. President Joe Biden will pressure Ukraine to grant special autonomous status to the Russian-occupied Donbas region in a press briefing on Dec. 9. When asked whether the U.S. will pressure Ukraine to cede land to Russia, Psaki said
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the 2022 annual defense spending bill, which includes $300 million in aid for Ukraine, on Dec. 7. The total budget amount is $770 billion. The Senate is due to vote on the bill later this week. The move comes a day after U.
The Dec. 7 video call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was anticipated as a likely turning point for the looming threat of a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The talks concluded without definitive resolutions or commitments from either side. Biden warned that if Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the U.S. and its allies "would respond with strong economic and other measures" against Moscow if it launches a military escalation against Ukraine. The two leaders held a two-hour-long video conference on Dec. 7 to discuss the
The U.S. and its European allies are preparing a set of ‘significant and severe’ sanctions in the event Russia does invade Ukraine, several media outlets including Politico reported on Dec. 6-7. Amidst a buildup of nearly 100,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders and in occupied territories, U.
