(Reuters) -Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had offered his country, which is under attack from its neighbour Russia, more support in the form of sanctions and weapons.
“In our call, Secretary Blinken affirmed that the U.S. support for Ukraine remains unfaltering,” Kuleba said on Twitter. “I underscored that Ukraine craves for peace, but as long as we are under Russia’s assault we need more sanctions and weapons. Secretary assured me of both. We coordinated further steps.”
Washington has already implemented a range of sanctions in concert with other Western allies to limit Russia’s access to overseas funds, investment or technology in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.
The United States drew from its stocks to supply Ukraine with weaponry in the fall of 2021 and again in December, and on Friday, President Joe Biden instructed his State Department to release up to an additional $350 million worth of weapons from U.S. stocks.
But Washington has firmly declined a Ukrainian request for the West to impose a no-fly zone to shield Ukraine from Russian air strikes – a step that would bring Western forces into direct conflict with the Russian military.
(Writing by Kevin Liffey in London; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Tom Hogue)
