“We are firmly by your side. “ The first senior American official to visit Ukraine since Joe Biden’s inauguration in January, Antony Blinken prayed at a memorial to soldiers killed in the war with the separatists. During his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the head of American diplomacy urged, Thursday, May 6, Russia to stop ” his dangerous and aggressive actions ” with regard to Kiev.
Russian armed forces remain deployed on the common border of the two countries, and in the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, despite the recent withdrawal announced by Moscow on April 23. “We are aware that Russia has withdrawn some forces from its border with Ukraine, but we see that significant forces remain”, stressed Anthony Blinken, promising to work with Ukraine so that it “Can defend itself against aggression”. Mr. Zelensky denounced, for his part, the slowness of the Russian withdrawal.
“The threat can still exist”
The Russian show of force made Kiev and the West fear a possible offensive, even an invasion. Especially since this massive deployment was accompanied by a resurgence of violence in the conflict with pro-Russian separatists, the war with the Ukrainian army in the east of the country having caused more than 13,000 deaths since 2014. “We consider that the reduction [des troupes russes] is too slow, that’s why the threat can still exist ”said Zelensky. He still welcomed a drop in attacks by separatist snipers on the front line in the east of the country.
Widely regarded as the military and financial godfather of these rebels, Russia claimed that its troop movements “Did not threaten anyone”, and that it was a response to operations “Aggressive” of NATO in Eastern Europe. Washington, Brussels and the Atlantic Alliance have multiplied the declarations of support for Kiev, but have not acceded to the Ukrainian request to accelerate its accession to NATO, a red line for Moscow.
Corruption, another hot issue
“I really came” for “Express personally on behalf of President Biden how much we appreciate our friendship, our partnership with Ukraine”, Blinken told the Ukrainian president. Kiev “Deeply appreciate” Washington’s aid since 2014, stressed the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba.
This year alone, Washington plans to provide Kiev with more than 400 million dollars (more than 330 million euros) in security and military aid. Ukraine also hopes, analysts said, for continued deliveries of lethal US weapons. Zelensky further invited President Biden to attend a summit on Crimea scheduled for Kiev in August, on the occasion of the 30e Ukrainian independence anniversary.
Mr Blinken’s trip comes as the US president has stepped up pressure on Russia with new sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, but he is also looking to hold a summit with Vladimir Putin in June.
Beyond international tensions, Blinken urged Kiev to tackle corruption more actively, a hot issue in the country and in its relations with the West. Ukraine faces two challenges: “External forces like Russia but also internal forces like oligarchs and other powerful individuals who pursue their own interests through illegitimate means to the detriment of the interests of the Ukrainian people”, stressed Mr. Blinken.
A recent Ukrainian decision thus tense Washington as much as Brussels: the dismissal at the end of April of the boss of the national energy giant Naftogaz, Andriy Koboliev, renowned reformer, and of the observation board of this company. Washington had denounced a decision testifying to a “Contempt for fair and transparent governance practices”.
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