US weapons help stabilize Ukraine frontline, Blinken says

By Humeyra Pamuk and Tom Balmforth

CHISINAU (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that American weapons delivered to kyiv were helping to stabilize the front line in Ukraine amid intensifying Russian attacks and that Washington would “adapt and adjust” its support.

America's top diplomat traveled to the Moldovan capital Chisinau for talks with pro-Western President Maia Sandu, the first stop on a brief European tour aimed at shoring up support for kyiv among Ukraine's allies. NATO and neighboring countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of the threat of global conflict if kyiv's Western allies allow it to use weapons they have supplied to strike inside Russia, which the Ukrainian government urges its partners to authorize.

The United States has said it does not encourage or allow the use of American weapons for direct attacks against Russia, but Blinken said it will “adjust and adapt,” when asked him during a press conference about Washington's current position on the issue.

“I think what you've seen over the last couple of years, as the nature of the battlefield has changed, as the locations and means used by Russia have changed, we've adapted and adjusted to that. .. That’s exactly what we did.” it will be fine in the future,” he said.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby also noted that U.S. support for Ukraine has evolved based on battlefield conditions. “And that’s not going to change,” he told reporters in Washington. “But for the moment, our policy is not changing either.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this week urged members of the Western military alliance to lift restrictions on the use of their weapons to allow Ukraine to strike “legitimate military targets” in Russia .

The United States, which is kyiv's largest arms supplier, passed a $61 billion aid package in April after months of delays that exacerbated the shortage of artillery shells.

Blinken said U.S. arms supplies were now having a “real effect” and that Putin had been unable to achieve his goals in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, where Russian forces launched an offensive this month, opening a new front.

“On the contrary, I think what we are seeing is once again a stabilization of the front and a failure in relation to Putin's objectives,” he said.

MOLDOVAN AID

Speaking alongside President Sandu on Wednesday, Blinken pledged $50 million in aid to Moldova and sustained support from the United States, saying the country had shown “extraordinary resilience” in the face of “intimidation » and Russian “interference efforts”.

Under Sandu, Moldova has strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and aims to join the European Union.

Sandu said Blinken's visit was “a strong sign of support” for Moldova.

“With the unity and support of our partners, we will stand with our people and move forward.”

Moldova, which is due to hold a referendum in October to cement its bid for EU membership in its constitution, is a strong supporter of Ukraine and sees its own security as closely linked to kyiv's ability to hold back the Russian forces.

“Support for Ukraine equals support for Moldova, but it also works the other way around. Supporting Moldova strengthens Ukraine because Ukraine needs a strong, democratic Moldova and a neighbor united because we share a 1,200 km border,” said Olga Rosca, Sandu’s foreign affairs officer. political advisor.

Blinken will travel to Prague on Wednesday to attend an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers, which will focus on advancing preparations for the alliance's July summit in Washington.

The United States is working with its European allies to help Ukraine build its long-term force, efforts that would bring kyiv closer to NATO. Some members, including the United States, are working to reach bilateral agreements with Ukraine.

More than two years after the start of Europe's deadliest war since World War II, Western allies are debating how to halt Russia's military advance and Putin is increasingly talking about the risk of world war.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Tom Balmforth in London; additional reporting by Alexander Tanas; editing by Don Durfee, Alistair Bell, Ros Russell, Nick Macfie and Paul Simao)