Blinken arrives in Ukraine as Biden administration says it's handing over extra ...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Ukraine, as the Biden administration today said it is providing an additional $200 million in defensive military aid to the country amid growing fears that a Russian invasion is imminent. 

A senior U.S. State Department official said the assistance was approved in late December as part of American efforts to help Ukraine protect itself. Until Wednesday, however, the administration had refused to comment on it. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly before Blinken's meetings in Kyiv and spoke on condition of anonymity.

'We are committed to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and will continue to provide Ukraine the support it needs,' the official said. The official did not detail the contents of the aid package.

And Britain has also sent troops and hi-tech weapons to Ukraine in a bid to thwart a feared Russian invasion, with two RAF transporters flew badly needed missile systems to Kiev's forces. Troops were aboard the planes and will remain in Ukraine to teach their counterparts how to combat Russian tanks.

U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the deployment came 'in light of the increasingly threatening behavior from Russia'.

The announcement came as Blinken opened a hastily arranged visit to Kyiv to show U.S. support following inconclusive diplomatic talks between Moscow and the West in Europe last week that failed to resolve stark disagreements over Ukraine and other security matters. 

Instead, those meetings appear to have increased fears of a Russian invasion, and the Biden administration has accused Russia of preparing a 'false flag operation' to use as a pretext for intervention. Russia has angrily denied the charge. 

The White House said Tuesday it believed a Russian invasion of Ukraine could come at any time, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki warning of an 'extremely dangerous situation' at the border as 100,000 Russian troops gathered. 

And upon his arrival at the US embassy in Kyiv, Blinken reiterated this point, saying: 'We know that there are plans in place to increase that (Russian) force even more on very short notice, and that gives President Putin the capacity, also on very short notice, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine.' 

It comes as Moscow officials said Russia is sending troops from the country's far east to Belarus for major war games in a deployment further beefing up Russian military assets near Ukraine.

'We're now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. 'And what Secretary Blinken is going to go do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward.'    

'It is the choice of President Putin and the Russians to make, whether they are going to suffer severe economic consequences or not.'

Blinken will today meet with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian officials before flying to Berlin on Thursday where he will speak to his German, British and French counterparts to discuss a possible response to any Russian military action. That meeting is aimed at testing Russia's willingness to resolve the crisis diplomatically, officials said.

Then from there he will meet Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.

In Geneva, Mr Blinken will be testing Mr Lavrov on Russia’s interest in a “diplomatic off-ramp” for the crisis, a senior US state department official said.

Mr Blinken’s “travel and consultations are part of the diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the tension caused by Russia’s military build-up and continued aggression against Ukraine”, the US state department said.

CIA Director William Burns visited Kyiv last Wednesday to consult with his Ukrainian counterparts and discuss current assessments of the risk to Ukraine, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Burns' schedule, which is classified. While there, he also discussed the current situation with Zelenskyy and efforts to de-escalate tensions.

Blinken spoke by phone Tuesday with Lavrov, discussing the diplomatic talks and meetings held last week. The State Department said Blinken 'stressed the importance of continuing a diplomatic path to de-escalate tensions' surrounding the Russia-Ukraine situation and 'reiterated the unshakable U.S. commitment' to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia has rejected the U.S. allegations that it's preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine. Lavrov dismissed the U.S. claim as 'total disinformation.'

Lavrov reaffirmed that Russia expects a written response this week from the U.S. and its allies to Moscow's request for binding guarantees that NATO will not embrace Ukraine or any other ex-Soviet countries or station its forces and weapons there.

Blinken underscored to Lavrov on Tuesday that any discussion of European security 'must include NATO Allies and European partners, including Ukraine,' the State Department said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov emphasized in the call with Blinken the key aspects of Russian draft documents envisaging 'legally binding guarantees of Russia's security in line with the principle of indivisibility of security approved by all countries in the Euro-Atlantic.' It said Lavrov stressed the importance for Washington to quickly deliver a written response to the Russian proposals.

Washington and its allies firmly rejected Moscow's demands during last week's Russia-U.S. negotiations in Geneva and a related NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels.

The White House said Friday that U.S. intelligence officials had concluded that Russia had already deployed operatives to rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to carry out acts of sabotage there and blame them on Ukraine to create a pretext for possible invasion.

Ahead of Blinken's visit to Kyiv, a delegation of U.S. senators was visiting Ukraine to emphasize congressional support for the country.

Speaking Monday on a visit to Kyiv, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that 'any further escalation would carry a high price for the Russian regime - economic, political and strategic,' and she emphasized the need to continue negotiations.

Russia in 2014 seized the Crimean Peninsula after the ouster of Ukraine's Moscow-friendly leader and also threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. More than 14,000 people have been killed in nearly eight years of fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces in the country's industrial heartland called Donbas.

Putin has warned that Moscow will take unspecified 'military-technical measures' if the West stonewalls its demands.   

The region has been on a knife-edge since the end of last year when Moscow moved as many as 100,000 troops, as well as tanks and missiles, close to the border with Ukraine. 

Intelligence officials believe that Putin has not yet made up his mind to invade.

'He clearly is building up a force posture there that provides him multiple options,' said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. 

'It's just difficult to know right now what options he's going to choose and we still don't believe that he's made a final decision.'

However, officials said last week that Russia had deployed agents trained in sabotage and urban warfare to launch a 'false-flag' attack on proxy forces, providing the pretext for invasion.

At the same time, it has stepped up social media campaigns portraying Ukraine as aggressors.

Russia has repeatedly denied that it is planning an invasion and instead demanded that NATO bar Ukraine from membership.

For their part, the United States and its allies have urged Russia to deescalate the situation by calling back the troops amassed near Ukraine. 

Blinken on Tuesday again urged a diplomatic resolution during a call with Lavrov, during which he stressed the 'unshakeable' U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.