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US faces conundrum in showdown with Russia over Ukraine
Too forceful a response could spark war, but conciliatory tone would embolden Moscow
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Ukrainian soldiers in the country's Donetsk region on Wednesday. If Russian sources are to be believed, Ukraine may be planning to either retake the Crimea peninsula, a Ukrainian territory Russia invaded and annexed in 2014, or overrun the two enclaves of ethnic Russian rebels inside Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held a round of emergency meetings with his counterparts from key European countries to coordinate a unified Western response to the recent massing of Russian troops at the border between Russia and Ukraine.
After a meeting in Brussels with the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy - held at the headquarters of Nato, the US-led military alliance in Europe - Mr Blinken pledged America's "unwavering support" for Ukraine's independence.
