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KYIV, UKRAINE - JANUARY 22: Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest on January 22, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Across Ukraine thousands of civilians are participating in such groups to receive basic combat training and in time of war would be under direct command of the Ukrainian military. While Ukrainian officials have acknowledged the country has little chance to fend off a full Russian invasion, Russian occupation troops would likely face a deep-rooted, decentralised and prolonged insurgency. Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on its border to Ukraine.
The United States has begun sending military support to boost Ukraine's defense capabilities amid rising tensions with Russia, which moved around 100,000 troops at the border following the visit of US Secretary State Antony Blinken.
Military Equipment From US Arrives in Ukraine
The US embassy reported that the first shipment of the $200 million security support approved in December has arrived in Kyiv. According to its Facebook post, the military aid is part of the US' commitment to assisting Ukraine's armed forces in defending the European country's "sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian aggression."
Moreover, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia will send military equipment such as anti-aircraft and anti-tank to Ukraine as endorsed by the United States government.
I expedited and authorized and we fully endorse transfers of defensive equipment @NATO Allies 🇪🇪 🇱🇻 🇱🇹 are providing to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and irresponsible aggression. https://t.co/wFOLv0Wi2V
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 22, 2022
"I expedited and authorized and we fully endorse transfers of defensive equipment NATO Allies Estonia Latvia Lithuania are providing to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia's unprovoked and irresponsible aggression," Blinken said on Twitter.
Ukraine's defense minister expressed gratitude to the United States for its assistance, as per Al Jazeera.
The arrival of military equipment in Ukraine came after the meeting of Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday, which the US Secretary of State described as "extreme" but "frank and substantive."
US, Russia Open To Future Talks
In the meeting on Friday, both top officials acknowledged they were open to further discussion, and Blinken found reasonable cause to believe that their mutual security concerns could be addressed.
After the earlier talks in Geneva, Blinken warned Russia that it would get a "severe" response if it pursued to invade Ukraine. Lavrov denied allegations of Moscow's plans to invade Kyiv and said that the Kremlin is waiting for a written response from Washington to its demands, as per CBS News.
Is Russia Trying to Install Pro-Russia Leadership in Ukraine?
Meanwhile, Britain said that it holds information that Moscow is trying to install a pro-Russia leader in Ukraine's government.
The British Foreign Ministry alleged that Russian intelligence officials had been in contact with past Ukrainian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev to be its candidate to lead a pro-Russian government in connection with Moscow's invasion plot. But the ministry declined to disclose further details, as per Reuters.
"We will not tolerate the Kremlin plot to install pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine. The Kremlin knows a military incursion would be a massive strategic mistake & the UK and our partners would impose a severe cost on Russia," Liz Truss, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, said on Twitter.
According to a foreign ministry source, sharing intelligence information is not a common procedure, and the specifics were only declassified after careful deliberation to avert Russian escalation.
Murayev, 45, is a pro-Russian politician opposing Ukraine's Western integration. In a survey conducted by the Razumkov's Centre think tank in December 2021, he placed seventh among presidential candidates for the 2024 election with 6.3 percent support.
But Murayev earlier denied such accusation, saying it is not "very logical" because he is "banned" from Russia. "Not only that but money from my father's firm there has been confiscated," he said.
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