Kamala Harris warns of uncertainty around what Putin will do next in Ukraine invasion

Vice President Kamala Harris said in Romania on Friday that there are no clear signs that Russian President Vladimir is interested in relenting on his assault on Ukraine.

The vice president made the remarks at a joint press conference in Bucharest with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

“The United States has been attempting sincerely to engage in diplomacy actively. And from everything that we know and have witnessed, Putin has shown no sign in engaging in serious diplomacy,” she said.

Ms Harris said that Russian is deploying its playbook of lies, misinformation and acts of aggression in Ukraine.

The vice president’s trip to Romania comes after her visit to Poland, where she met with the Polish president and prime minister, refugees from Ukraine and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Her words come as the Senate just passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill that includes $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine, including $4 billion in humanitarian assistance, which will head to President Joe Biden’s desk. She also announced that the United States would give $53 million through the United Nations to the World Food Programme.

Ms Harris also reiterated the United States’ commitment to Article 5 of Nato, which says an attack on one member of Nato is an attack on all members of the alliance and praised the country for its actions. To that point, the vice president said the United States sent a 1,000-member striker squadron, creating a total of 2,000 American troops prepared to defend the Eastern flank.

“We have reinforced our recent commitments all with the mention and with the meaning of strengthening our deterrence and collective defence,” she said.

“You have been welcoming tens of thousands of refugees and have been doing it with such grace,” she said. “I was very moved, Mr President, by the stories you shared with me of the time you spent with refugees and the heart-renching experience that they are having. So we stand together, Romania and the United States in insuring we do all that is required to put resources into the humanitarian piece of this.”

Still, the vice president did not say whether the United States would do anything to welcome more refugees from Ukraine into the United States. The video feed for the news conference unexpectedly cut out though, midway through a response by Mr Iohannis.

But not all Romanians were not pleased with her presence, with some holding a poster with a picture of her face and Mr Putin’s face while others said “We Romanians want neutrality.”

Ms Harris is expected to now meet staffers for the US embassy.

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