In a major development, the US has approved requests by Baltic countries to ship US-made weapons to Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion mount, as per officials.
A State Department official in Berlin, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken was holding talks on Ukraine, said that the United States was “expediting authorised transfers of US-origin equipment from other allies.”
The news has broken just hours after US President Joe Biden commented about Putin saying “my guess is he will move in”. The words of US President are being interpreted by some as an indication of an increased possibility of a Russian attack on Ukraine.
Russia currently has tens of thousands of its troops stationed along its border with Ukraine. Though in past, Russia has said that it would not invade Ukraine, the Russian statements about Ukraine being a threat to Russia’s security are seen as a attempt to create a pretext for invasion. Ukraine, part of the erstwhile Soviet Union has already lost the Crimean peninsula which was annexed by Russia in 2014
Russia has made it abundantly clear that it is dead against Ukraine joining North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Ukraine has till recently shown eagerness to join the military alliance which, at the time of its formation, was aimed against the Russian threat perceived by western powers.
(With inputs from agencies)
