MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US military supplies arrive in Ukraine, embassy ready for evacuation

Lavrov and Blinken are to talk again this week, giving UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hope that a Russian invasion “will not happen.”

The United States Embassy in Kiev has confirmed the arrival of military supplies sent by Washington to the Ukrainian capital while preparations were also under way to leave the diplomatic mission at the earliest, in case military tensions with Russia escalate.

The diplomatic sources did not make any comments on the size and type of gear other than it consisted of “lethal weapons,” including some 90 tons of “ammunition for the defenders of Ukraine at the front.”

“This demonstrates the firm commitment of the United States to Ukraine's sovereign right to self-defense,” according to an Embassy statement posted on Twitter.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met last week in Geneva with Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov, in what were “useful and substantial” conversations about the current tension, which nevertheless failed to yield any concrete results.

The Kremlin opposes NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe, claiming it violates international treaties, and announced in recent weeks the deployment of soldiers near the Ukrainian border, while Western powers accuse Moscow of planning a military incursion, which the Government of Vladimir Putin has constantly denied.

Putin has for years supported to the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, in a conflict that has left more than 13,000 dead since 2014, the same year that Moscow annexed Crimea, in response to a pro-Western revolution in Kyiv.

The United States' military shipment was repeatedly denounced by Moscow, understanding that it only serves to increase military tension in the area, as had recently happened with another shipment of light anti-tank weapons delivered by the United Kingdom. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also expressed interest in sending US-made anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.

Lavrov and Blinken also agreed to continue their talks this week, giving UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hope that a Russian invasion or military incursion into Ukraine “will not happen.”

Meanwhile, the US ordered the evacuation of the families of the staff of its Embassy in Kyivwhich is to begin Monday, while US citizens in the area have been advised to leave the country on commercial flights.

Ukraine's President Volodimir Zelenski reportedly told Blinken such a move was an “exaggerated reaction” which could weaken confidence in his Government. The State Department only said it was developing “rigorous contingency plans, as is always the case, in the event that the security situation deteriorates.”

Moscow has on more than one occasion rejected accusations of planning an invasion of Ukraine, alleging that it is moving troops within its own territory, which does not threaten anyone, but the West was using these accusations as a pretext to station more North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military equipment near Russia's borders.

Blinken has warned of a “united, rapid and severe response” from the US if Moscow commits a new aggression against Ukraine. US President Joseph Biden has warned Putin that “if Russia invades Ukraine it will be a disaster for them”