Senior Pentagon Official: US to keep reviewing its presence in Ukraine
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A senior US official says the US will continue to review its presence and the presence of its embassy in Ukraine.
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The US Embassy in Ukraine
The United States will keep reviewing its presence in Ukraine and that of its embassy in Kiev, a senior Defense Department official said during a press conference on Monday.
"We’ll continue to review our presence in the country as security conditions evolve, but I don’t have any announcements to make or numbers to provide, again for OpSec [operational security] and force protection reasons," the senior official said.
His comment came after media reports stated that the Biden administration has been considering sending a small military force to help in weapon monitoring in Ukraine.
Earlier today, US President Joe Biden said the Defense Department is only sending material to support Ukraine and is not deploying forces to the country.
"Are we sending troops to Ukraine? No. We’re sending material like we have, billions of dollars," Biden told reporters.
In a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden reiterated Washington's support for Ukraine, a White House statement said on Sunday.
"President Biden highlighted how the US is prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense through our security assistance, including the December 9 announcement of $275 million in additional ammunition and equipment that included systems to counter the Russian use of unmanned aerial vehicles. President Biden also highlighted the November 29 announcement of $53 million to support energy infrastructure to strengthen the stability of Ukraine’s energy grid in the wake of Russia’s targeted attacks," the White House said.
Biden also reaffirmed the US commitment to continue providing security, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Kiev while imposing costs on Russia.
This comes two weeks after the White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not ready for negotiations with Russia.
On another hand, Kirby said Biden has not indicated that now is the time to hold negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the crisis in Ukraine. "The President wasn't at all indicating that this now is the time for talks," Kirby said during a conference call.
Biden said he was willing to talk with Putin if there was a sincere interest to end the conflict in Ukraine.
