On Thursday, Washington announced the doubling of the number of forces on the eastern front of NATO, and imposed new sanctions on Russian entities, while the G7 countries renewed their condemnation of Russia, stressing that it will continue to support Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed the doubling of the number of forces on the eastern front of NATO, and that the United States will continue to support Ukraine to enhance its ability to launch attacks against Russian forces.
Blinken added in a press conference that Washington is working with its allies to renew the Ukrainian infrastructure that was damaged by the Russian attacks.
Blinken indicated that he held video meetings with the foreign ministers of the G7 countries to discuss ideas for a just peace proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Washington on Wednesday, where Blinken described the proposal as a "good start."
"Essentially today, Russia has shown no interest in (engaging) in serious diplomacy" to end the war, Blinken said, considering that Russian President Vladimir Putin "does not want diplomacy."
Blinken's statements come after Putin confirmed that Moscow believes in negotiations to resolve all armed conflicts, but he also pledged to achieve all of his country's goals in Ukraine, accusing Washington of seeking to prolong the war.
In this context, the US Secretary of State said, "In the wake of Russian naval operations on Ukrainian ports - including those that provide much-needed food and grain - the United States is today imposing sanctions on Russian maritime entities."
Blinken emphasized that his country remains determined to use all appropriate measures to deter Russian attacks on Ukraine, whether air, land or sea, stressing the need for the Kremlin to end its brutal campaign, he said.
The US State Department stated that the 10 entities targeted by the sanctions are working or have worked in the defense sector and the maritime sector of the Russian economy.
Among those entities is the Promate Central Scientific Research Institute for Structural Materials, which the State Department describes as Russia's largest materials research center and is involved in building warships and developing military technology.
On Wednesday, the United States announced the provision of an additional shipment of military aid to Ukraine, worth $1.85 billion, including the Patriot air defense system, during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington.
Putin responded by saying that the Patriot system is old and less efficient than the Russian "S-300" system, vowing to destroy it if it is transferred to Ukraine.
In turn, the strategic communications coordinator at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said that Putin resorted to the Wagner security company because of the difficulties in recruiting Russians to fight in Ukraine, stressing that Wagner suffers heavy human losses.
G-7
On the other hand, the G7 countries issued a statement yesterday, Thursday, calling on Belarus not to allow Russia to use its territory in its war against Ukraine.
And the statement issued after the meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries of the group stated that if Belarus was directly involved in the war waged by Russia, the price for that would be high for the Minsk government.
The statement stressed that the G7 countries are committed to increasing their efforts to meet Ukraine's urgent need for military and defense equipment - especially air defense - in order to save more lives.
Members of the group welcomed the Ukrainian president's efforts to "promote a just and lasting peace," and called on Russia to stop its attacks and withdraw its forces completely and unconditionally from all Ukrainian territory.
The group consists of the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany.
field developments
In the latest developments, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Army Command, Sergei Sherivati, said that the army had fully regained control of the city of Bakhmut, east of the country.
Sherivati added, in a statement to Al-Jazeera, that the city was subjected to intense missile bombardment after the Russian forces were expelled.
The Ukrainian General Staff said that its forces repelled Russian attacks on its positions in the city and succeeded in expelling the Russian forces and Wagner forces outside the boundaries of the industrial zone.
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces are continuing to advance in the Donetsk axis, and that they have eliminated about 50 Ukrainian soldiers, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected the positions of the Russian forces in the area of the military operation for Ukraine.