Washington does not rule out any measures, including military ones, as a response to Russia's possible actions against Ukraine.

This was stated by US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield in an interview with the Moldovan media, the text of which was published by the US office.

So, Thomas-Greenfield answered in the affirmative to the question whether the Biden administration is considering the possibility of using “military countermeasures” against the Russian Federation. 

"Undoubtedly.

We noted that in terms of response measures, we are not going to exclude any of the options, ”the American diplomat emphasized.

At the same time, the US Ambassador to the UN said that Washington hopes to find a "diplomatic solution."

“But if we fail to find a diplomatic outlet leading to de-escalation, we will respond to any action the Russians take against Ukraine,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

She also said that she held a series of meetings with colleagues from countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council to "express concern" in Washington over the situation around Ukraine.

The US Permanent Representative to the UN noted that Washington has provided Ukraine with $2.7 billion in military assistance since 2014. In addition, Thomas-Greenfield recalled that during the recent visit of the head of the US State Department Anthony Blinken to Ukraine, additional funding was announced, and also that the American side will continue to provide military equipment to Kiev.

Shortly after the publication of the interview with Thomas-Greenfield, the US Embassy in Ukraine reported that a military cargo with a total weight of more than 90 tons had been delivered to the republic.

Earlier, US media reported that the Biden administration in late December approved the transfer of additional military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 200 million. Subsequently, the Politico newspaper reported that it was allocated through a mechanism that allows urgent military assistance to be sent to another state.

Plans for military support for Ukraine were also reported in the UK and the Baltic countries.

At the same time, The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Berlin blocked the transfer of German-made artillery by Estonia to the Ukrainian side.

Germany insists that the transportation of weapons previously received from Germany to third countries is possible only after obtaining a special permit, which in this case the Estonian authorities do not have.

"Russia should become a pariah"

At the same time, representatives of the American political establishment continue to call for the introduction of new restrictions on Russia.

For example, former US Ambassador to the OSCE James Gilmour, in his article for Foreign Policy magazine, called for exclusion of Russia from all international organizations in the event of an escalation of the situation around Ukraine.

“Russia should become an outcast among civilized countries.

Efforts must be made to exclude her from all international organizations, starting with the OSCE, ”Gilmore believes.

The former representative added that if the OSCE countries “do not exclude Russia and its satellite in the person of Belarus, the organization will probably continue to exist as a kind of empty shell until better times, but the United States should not finance it.”

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Also, to contain Russia, he called on the United States to speed up the admission of neutral Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Alliance.

"It's time for the United States to start aggressively recruiting these two countries into NATO," Gilmour said.

In addition, the chairman of the international committee of the US House of Representatives, Democrat Gregory Meeks, proposed a bill on sanctions against Russia in the event of its "invasion" of Ukraine.

Among other things, the congressman listed sanctions against top officials of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Mishustin, Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Shoigu), the Nord Stream 2 project, as well as the mining industry and financial organizations.

In addition, Meeks offered to expand security assistance to Ukraine.

Recall that in the past few months, Western countries have been escalating the situation around the situation in Ukraine, lobbying for the topic of "aggression" that Russia is allegedly planning against it.

At the same time, an information campaign has been launched in the Western media since the end of October that the Russian Federation is preparing a “military invasion” of Ukraine, for which it is gathering troops to its border.

In their materials, the media rely on statements from anonymous sources and some intelligence, according to which the said “invasion” should take place in January or February 2022.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that there are no such plans, but the topic of the “invasion” attributed to the Russian Federation remains on the agenda of Western publications.

Thus, the CNN channel, citing sources, reported that the US Embassy in Ukraine allegedly applied to the State Department with a request to allow the departure of all secondary employees of the diplomatic mission, as well as members of their families, from Kiev.

At the same time, this information was not confirmed by the American Foreign Ministry.

"Getting the situation even worse"

Recall that in early December, United States President Joe Biden said that Washington would not send troops to Ukraine in the event of an aggravation of the situation.

The question of a possible transfer of the American contingent to Ukraine was also asked to the head of the State Department, Anthony Blinken, following his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on January 21.

The Secretary of State, in response, recalled that Ukraine is not a member of NATO and is not subject to the alliance's collective defense obligations.

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According to Andrei Sidorov, head of the Department of International Organizations and World Political Processes at the Faculty of World Politics of Moscow State University, current statements about US military measures are aimed at further aggravating the geopolitical situation.

“Military measures on the part of the United States can only be implemented in the form of deliveries of various weapons to Ukraine or an increase in the concentration of troops on the eastern flank of NATO.

Also, the transfer of additional contingents or the concentration of forces in the Black Sea and Baltic waters is not ruled out.

All this will aggravate the situation even more, ”says Sidorov.

According to him, the United States can increase military-political pressure in the region even without sending troops directly to Ukraine.

“The Permanent Representative to the UN did not say unequivocally that troops would be sent to Ukraine.

At the same time, forces from Europe or the United States can be transferred to Romania, Poland or the Baltic states.

It is unlikely that any American units will be introduced into the territory of Ukraine; rather, military instructors will be sent, ”the expert believes.

From the point of view of HSE Professor Dmitry Evstafiev, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield clarified the true position of Washington, which the Biden administration and the head of the State Department are trying to camouflage.

“The United States, on the one hand, seeks to continue to exert political pressure on Russia without taking practical action.

This is done because the most serious sanctions they have outlined could affect their economy in unpredictable ways.

On the other hand, the United States is clearly aware that their pressure on Russia using traditional tools is insufficient and ineffective, ”says Evstafiev.

He also does not rule out that Thomas-Greenfield's statements are primarily aimed at Washington's allies.

“Obviously, the previous tactics of informational pressure on Russia are not working, so we need to look for new options.

In addition, they do not want to take responsibility, because in fact this will mean the recognition that Washington is the initiator of the aggravation of the situation and a possible direct military clash with Russia.

Therefore, there is a figure of a lower level who throws in new theses to see who and how will react to them, ”concluded Evstafiev.