U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. File photoWASHINGTON, Mar 10 U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba diplomatic efforts being made to end the conflict in Ukraine, as well as military and humanitarian assistance to the country, the State Department said.Telephone conversation took place ahead of Kuleba's scheduled meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Turkey on Thursday.
"Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Kuleba discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts to stop Putin's war" — said in a press release.
The foreign ministers also touched upon the topic of additional military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the State Department added. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» to use weapons during martial law. For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, the civilian population is not in danger. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But the occupation of Ukraine is out of the question, the Russian President emphasized.