U.S. 'Deeply Concerned' Over Russian Military Moves As Kyiv Calls For NATO 'Deterrence Package'

When The United States Has Weak Leadership, Bad Things Happen.

Ukraine says it will ask NATO to boost military cooperation with Kyiv and prepare economic sanctions as part of a “deterrence package" to prevent Russia from attacking it as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington has serious concerns that Russia could be planning an invasion.

The comments came as the Western military alliance's foreign ministers met for a second day in Latvia amid growing concern over a Russian military buildup near the Ukrainian border.

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"We are confident that if we join efforts, if we act in a coordinated fashion, we will be able to deter President [Vladimir] Putin and to demotivate him from choosing the worst-case scenario, which is a military operation," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on December 1 as he arrived for talks with his NATO counterparts in the Latvian capital, Riga.

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said that any military operation that would violate the sovereignty of Ukraine would be met with "severe consequences," and that his country was ready to engage with "heavy" sanctions.

Kofod's comments echoed stark warnings issued by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other foreign ministers of the 30-country defense bloc who on the first day of their meeting said Russia would pay a "heavy price" for any new military aggression against Ukraine, while Moscow cautioned the Western military alliance against crossing its "red lines."

Ukraine -- which aspires to become a member of NATO, a move strongly opposed by Moscow -- says Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops and heavy equipment near their common border following massive war games in western Russia earlier this year, raising fears of a possible invasion.

On December 1, Blinken said the United States has serious concerns over "evidence" that Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine and warned Moscow it will face drastic economic sanctions if such an attack occurred.

"We're deeply concerned by evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine. Plans include efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within, as well as large scale military...

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