US will ‘respond’ to ‘reckless or aggressive’ actions by Russia, vows Antony Blinken

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Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has warned Moscow that Washington will “respond” to any acts of aggression or recklessness carried out by the Russian government.

Speaking during a meeting of G7 ministers in London, America’s top diplomat attacked Vladimir Putin’s administration over its treatment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and interference in US presidential elections.

Mr Blinken also spoke out against what he said was Russia’s “cyber intrusion” during the hacking of the US tech company SolarWinds last year.

“What President Biden has said very clearly and repeatedly is, if Russia acts recklessly or aggressively, as it did with the SolarWinds cyber intrusion, as it did with interference in our elections, as it did with what it has done to Mr Navalny, then we will respond,” he told the BBC.

Mr Blinken visits Russia’s neighbour, Ukraine, on Thursday amid heightened tensions along the two countries’ border.

Moscow, which claims its soldiers are not on the ground in eastern Ukraine, caused fears to soar this year by conducting massive military exercises near the border with Ukraine. Russia said late last month that it has pulled the forces back to their bases, but Kyiv saw the drills as ominous.

The US secretary of state said his trip to the country would show America’s “unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

He added that Joe Biden planned to visit Ukraine in the future and that the US was actively looking to increase security assistance to the country.

Speaking alongside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Mr Blinken said that Russia had left significant numbers of troops and equipment near Ukraine's border despite announcing a withdrawal last month.

“In terms of the threat, it remains. Russia has pulled back some forces but significant forces remain at Ukraine's border,” he said. “Russia has the capacity on fairly short notice to take aggressive action if it so chooses.”