Blinken warns of potential escalation in Ukraine conflict

The United States is evaluating the risk of escalation in Ukraine as discussions with Kyiv officials include the possibility of launching strikes deep into Russian territory using Western-supplied weapons.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the remarks at a joint press conference in Kyiv alongside UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Caliber.Az reports, citing the US Embassy and Consulates in China.

“I’ll leave specific targets and questions for the experts.  And of course, I don’t have personal views, I have professional views in my capacity as Secretary of State, and I’ll be sharing what we’ve learned on this trip with the President in the coming days,” Blinken said.

He addressed a question regarding the possibility of further escalation in the conflict zone in Ukraine.

“And when it comes to escalation, you made the point yourself we’ve seen Russia now pursue and indeed escalate its attacks inside Ukraine on civilians, on energy infrastructure, as well as on the Ukrainian military that’s defending its country.  And we’ve now seen this action of Russia acquiring ballistic missiles from Iran, which will further empower their aggression in Ukraine. So if anyone is taking escalatory action, it would appear to be Mr. Putin and Russia,” he stressed.

Blinken stated that the United States has continuously adapted to changing needs and conditions on the battlefield from the outset. He expressed confidence that this adaptive approach will persist as the situation evolves.