Harris in Munich Plans to Ensure US Fully Aligned With Allies on Ukraine

US Vice President Kamala Harris during her trip to the Munich Conference later this week will ensure the United States is aligned with its allies and partners in Europe on the Ukraine situation, a senior US administration official told reporters.

"The key objective for her [Harris'] trip now is to focus on this fast-changing, evolving situation, this tremendous challenge we are facing now, to make sure that we are fully aligned with our allies and partners, and to make sure that we have sent a very clear message to Russia... which is that there are two paths: our preference is diplomacy and deterrence but if Russia chooses aggression, we are ready, the US is ready, our allies are ready", the official said on Wednesday.

The official also accused Russia of allegedly deploying an additional 7,000 troops near its border with Ukraine over the last several days, adding that Washington and its allies would be ready if there is an invasion.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov earlier announced that Moscow was withdrawing some of its forces from the border with Ukraine. On the same day, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin that some drills with Belarus had ended while others were continuing as planned. The joint Russia-Belarus drills are expected to finish up on Sunday.

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Also on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that American concerns over an "incursion into Ukraine" have not diminished, claiming, "we are in a window where [Russian President Vladimir] Putin could order an invasion or an attack on Ukraine at a moment's notice".

The West and Kiev have accused Russia of a troop buildup near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for an "invasion". In response to such claims, Moscow has repeatedly stated it has the right to move its troops within its own territory, while pointing to the increased NATO presence near Russia's borders, which Russia perceives as a clear threat to national security.

Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently emphasised the unacceptability of the actions of the West, which have led to the accelerated militarisation of Ukraine, and the danger of rash development of military-technical cooperation with the authorities in Kiev under the current conditions. And President Putin has called the events taking place in the Donbass region of Ukraine "genocide", slamming Kiev's repeated refusal to implement the Minsk accords or follow the resolutions reached as part of the Normandy format with Germany and France.