Kamala Harris, the vice president of the United States, will speak at the Munich Security Conference next week, the White House said on Wednesday. She will try to get European allies to fight against a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Harris is going to give a very important speech about the United States’ policy in Ukraine and its commitment to its NATO allies. Her meeting with EU and NATO leaders will also help them form a united front against Russia’s military buildup around Ukraine, which she will try to stop.
The annual meeting, which was organised by Western countries during the Cold War to talk about military conflicts, brings together about 350 senior people from a lot of different countries at a traditional venue in Germany.
In Munich, “we will show that we are firmly committed to our NATO allies,” said Sabrina Singh, the vice president’s deputy press secretary. “We will also reaffirm our shared interest in upholding the principles that have kept Europe safe and peaceful since World War II.”
In Harris’s trip, the United States is going to be more involved with its allies and partners in Europe as Russia continues to build up some 100,000 troops near the Ukraine border and show off its naval power. Moscow says it isn’t planning an invasion, but US officials say an attack could happen in a few days or weeks.
Ten days from now, Russian forces in Belarus will begin 10 days of military exercises as a show of strength. Six Russian warships were on their way to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean today.
Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that European countries would be drawn into a war with Russia in which “there will be no winners” if Ukraine joined NATO and then tried to retake the Crimean Peninsula that Russia took in 2014. This is the second time in a week that Putin has said this.