U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced plans to travel to Europe to reaffirm Washington's support for Ukraine, saying that the human costs of Russia's invasion of Ukraine were already "staggering."
The courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of the "unwarranted, unprovoked, and unjustified war" is inspiring the world, Blinken said at a news conference at the State Department.
Blinken noted that earlier on March 2 the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution deploring Russia's invasion.
He said passage of the resolution, which was supported by about three-quarters of UN members, showed that the international community "stands against Russia's reckless attempts to change the border of another country."
Blinken also said the United States "will support diplomatic efforts" by Kyiv to reach a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.
"If there are diplomatic steps that we can take that the Ukrainian government believes would be helpful, we're prepared to take them, even as we continue to support Ukraine's ability to defend itself," he said.
Blinken also said he was confident that military assistance from NATO is getting into Ukraine and reiterated that NATO allies have said they are determined to defend "every inch of NATO territory."
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Blinken will leave for Brussels on March 3 for meetings with his counterparts from the European Union and NATO countries. From there he will travel to Poland, which has taken in more than 450,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Blinken will make a stop in Moldova, which has also taken in thousands of refugees. He is to meet in Chisinau with President Maia Sandu, who was elected in 2020 on a pro-Western platform, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, and Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu.
Moldova is not a NATO member but has relations with the alliance and has long objected to a Russian military presence in the breakaway region of Transdniester, which gained de facto independence following a brief war in 1992.
Blinken will also go to the Baltics. Leaders of the three NATO member states have expressed concerns about a Russian attack.
NATO has pledged to reinforce its military resources in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia as well as in Poland and Romania.