KYIV (Reuters) – A Russian troop build-up near Ukraine’s borders means President Vladimir Putin can order an attack on Ukraine at very short notice, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on a visit to Ukraine on Wednesday.
Blinken said he strongly hopes that Russia can stick to a diplomatic and peaceful path when he goes on to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva this week for more talks to defuse the standoff over Ukraine.
“We know that there are plans in place to increase that (Russian) force even more on very short notice, and that gives President Putin the capacity, also on very short notice, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine,” Blinken told diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Alison Williams)
