As tension persists between Russia and Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris is headed to Europe to represent the U.S. at the Munich Security Conference later this week.
During the trip, Harris is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time Saturday, according to senior Biden administration officials cited by CBS News.
“We are in a very decisive moment,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters Wednesday night. “The vice president is leading the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference this year as a resounding signal that engagement with our partners and allies is an absolutely critical part of our overall diplomacy and our approach to this situation.”
As of Saturday, there were an estimated 120,000 Russian troops at the Ukrainian border. By Thursday morning, there were as many as 7,000 more in recent days, said CBS. However, Russia has claimed that it is pulling back troops because its military exercises have concluded.
U.S. officials made it clear to Kremlin officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, that the U.S. and allied nations would react if Russia invades Ukraine.
Harris was expected to leave for Munich Thursday and the conference is scheduled to take place from Friday through Sunday. She is set to deliver a speech Saturday that addresses the situation at the Ukrainian border.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Harris would “convey to the rest of the world again our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies, our commitment to defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and our commitment to putting in place severe economic consequences should Russia invade,” according to ABC News.
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance that does not include Russia. Putin has stated opposition to Ukraine joining the alliance.
In addition to Zelensky, Harris is expected to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as well as Baltic state leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Russia is not sending a representative to the annual conference, said CBS.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to attend the conference. According to a senior administration official said, Blinken was added to the U.S. delegation late in a move that “underscores the importance of this gathering.”
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