There has been no change since the summit of President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and there is still a large Russian military presence near Ukraine, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, while Moscow warned against sliding into confrontation.
Kirby said that this week Ukraine will receive US light weapons and ammunition, as part of an aid package that was previously approved.
Kirby added, in a press conference, that the United States has not yet reached the stage of deploying more American forces and equipment to strengthen Washington's allies and support them in confronting Russia.
Biden and Putin held a closed virtual summit on Tuesday, which lasted for more than two hours, and focused mainly on the Ukraine file, NATO's advance to the east, and Western accusations of Russia preparing to invade Ukraine.
The Kremlin said that the Russian and US presidents had agreed to discuss the issue of security guarantees with other countries.
And the White House announced yesterday, Wednesday, that Biden will brief the leaders of nine eastern European countries that are members of NATO on Thursday, the results of closed talks he held with Putin.
And the White House said - in a statement - that Biden will listen to the views of the leaders of the Bucharest Group countries on the current security situation, and will affirm the United States' commitment to transatlantic security.
The West's fears are rising that Russia is massing its forces near Ukraine, and Russia, in turn, has expressed concern about Ukraine's close relations with NATO and accused Kiev of mobilizing its forces as well.
And the US newspaper, The Washington Post, reported that satellite images showed movements of Russian forces towards Ukraine from as far away as Siberia, in a new indication that reinforces the West's fears of Moscow's intention to invade its neighbor, according to the newspaper.
In the context of international moves, French President Emmanuel Macron said he will hold separate talks soon with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, stressing that the Europeans stand by Ukraine and ensure its security.
Macron added that he will continue frank dialogue with Putin to reach a path that guarantees the sovereignty of Ukraine and the stability of the European continent.
British warning
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace warned Russia on Thursday that it would face serious long-term repercussions if Putin ordered an attack on Ukraine. on Russia."
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his hope that the tripartite contact group would make progress on a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
On the other hand, the chief of the Russian General Staff said that the information about his country's preparation for a military invasion of Ukraine was false.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said that his country hopes that Washington and its allies will not cross red lines and slip into a spiral of confrontation.
And the Russian Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying that Moscow believes that the escalation of tension between Russia and the United States over Ukraine threatens to repeat the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, in reference to the confrontation that occurred in 1962 between the United States and the former Soviet Union, which put the world on the brink. nuclear war.