"We believe that support for Ukraine continues to be essential," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday.
"It continues to be important that the United States be there to help Ukraine defend itself against these horrific attacks that Russia has launched on them and continues to launch on them," he added.
'We have to walk and chew gum at the same time'
Miller told reporters that the administration in Washington was staying focused on helping Kyiv and that other conflicts were not diverting attention from Russia's war against Ukraine, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported.
"We have not lost focus in any sense on our need to support Ukraine," Miller said.
"That’s why you’ve seen the President give an Oval Office address about our support for Ukraine, and we will continue to stay focused on it," he added. "We think we have the ability to work on more than one thing. You hear the Secretary often say, we have to walk and chew gum at the same time, and that is true with respect to both of these issues."
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński has warned that Russia is hoping the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas will divert the West’s attention and allow Moscow to defeat Ukraine.
“Russia welcomes the fact that the international public has focused its attention on the conflict in the Middle East, rather than the crimes being committed in Ukraine," the Polish deputy foreign minister said on Tuesday.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called on allies to persist in providing Kyiv with lethal aid, saying that there were no indications of Russia planning for peace in Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 617 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: ukrinform.net, state.gov
