Following a meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken reaffirmed American support for the "territorial integrity of Ukraine" and warned Russia that it would be held responsible for any aggressive actions it takes towards Ukraine.
Blinken has further threatened this week that the US respond to “Russian aggression against Ukraine” with “high-impact economic measures that we’ve refrained from taking in the past”.
The announcement comes as US intelligence has revealed potential Russian invasion plans for early next year. The unclassified intelligence includes satellite images showing a buildup of Russian forces and equipment near Ukraine's eastern border and details 100 battalion groups, made up of 175,000 troops which may be used in an invasion of Ukraine.
Commenting on this intelligence, US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, maintained that "there’s enough out there now to cause a lot of concern".
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council however maintained on Friday that the US did not seek conflict with Russia and believed that diplomacy was the way forwards.
The US has grown increasingly alarmed by Russian aggression towards Ukraine and its support for pro-Moscow separatists. In 2014 Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula.
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