The United States is concerned about Russia's attempts to "establish institutional control over Ukraine's sovereign territories, especially in the Kherson region. Washington will increase sanctions for criminal actions.
This was announced at a press briefing by Ned Price, the speaker of the U.S. Department of State.
He noted that the Kremlin is apparently considering several approaches: "from recognizing the so-called 'people's republics,' as Russia has already done by using force in Donetsk and Lugansk, to attempted annexation, as it did in Crimea.
Since these scenarios are already known, according to the State Department spokesman, the U.S. is starting to sound the alarm ahead of time.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on simplified obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
Also at the briefingNed Price said the United States will announce a new military assistance package for Ukraine in the coming days to help resist Kremlin aggression.
"We must strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself with dignity in the face of Moscow's brutal aggression in the future, and we will have more to announce in that regard in the coming days," Price said.
The State Department spokesman also stressed that the U.S. Presidential Administration has about $40 billion at its disposal, most of which is intended for defense support to Ukrainian partners.
Earlier US President Joe Biden said that Washington would not transfer to Ukraine long-range missiles that can reach the Russian territory.
At the same time, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova clarified that Biden's statement did not mean that he would not transfer the universal MLRS at all.
