Washington reported that it made it clear to Moscow its readiness to respond firmly with its allies if Russia carried out an aggression against Ukraine, while the Ukrainian president praised the fighting spirit of the army and its ability to thwart what he described as Russia's aggressive plans.

The State Department said Washington was ready to take "unprecedented" measures if Russia did not show a desire for a diplomatic solution with Ukraine.

For his part, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that his country continues to provide support to Ukraine so that it can defend itself, revealing in a White House press conference about the meeting of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with the leaders of the ministry to discuss the situation between Russia and Ukraine, and Kirby added that Washington continues to support Kiev with the necessary weapons to defend itself.

Tensions are rising in Ukraine on the country's eastern border, following the warning of the Defense Ministry in Kiev of an imminent Russian attack.

A senior White House official said Monday that the United States was prepared to "respond" to potential requests to increase its military presence if Russia attacked Ukraine.


Ukrainian army support

This source explained that "in the event that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin moves, there will be a request from our allies" in Eastern Europe "to send more forces and capabilities (...) and the United States will respond to that."

But the senior official made it clear that a direct US military response in the event of an attack on Ukraine is not currently on the table.

"The United States does not seek to find itself in a situation where the direct use of American forces is an issue," he stressed.

He noted that Washington would prefer, in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, to work on a "combination of several elements" that includes "support for the Ukrainian army", "imposition of strong economic sanctions" and "a significant increase in support for our NATO allies and improvement of their capabilities."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to the Donbas front, where he will participate in the National Day of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Zelensky praised the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian army and its ability to thwart what he described as aggressive plans, and expressed his confidence that the Ukrainian army will continue to defend the freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine against the Russian aggressor, as he put it.

And Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov had revealed in parliament that Russia was planning an attack on his country by the end of next month.


US-Russia summit

Reznikov said that Russia has amassed about 94,000 soldiers on the borders of his country, within 50 battalions, most of which are on standby;

At a time when military experts spoke that Russia's attack could take place on several fronts.

This great tension precedes an expected hypothetical summit between US Presidents Joe Biden and Russian Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian crisis will impose itself on the summit's agenda, as the White House has said that Biden will express Washington's concerns about Russian military activities, and will also reaffirm Washington's support for Ukraine, especially in light of reports the US State Department spoke about earlier about the military build-up of thousands of Russian soldiers on border with Ukraine.

On the other hand, the Kremlin said that Putin will present, during his summit with Biden, a proposal for legal security guarantees with the West.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of evading the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

In a television interview, Lavrov said that if he left the choice to Ukraine, it would definitely not implement anything, and that it should be forced to do so.

Lavrov accused Berlin and Paris of procrastinating in the implementation of their obligations with regard to pushing Ukraine to abide by the terms of the Minsk agreements.

It is noteworthy that the Minsk ceasefire agreement provides for the withdrawal of heavy weapons and foreign forces from Ukraine, in addition to Ukraine's control of its entire border with Russia.