Nandita Bhose

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris plans to work with Poland and Romania to determine next steps in response to Russia’s invasion Ukraine. She will also reassure the leaders of each country that Washington is there to support them during Thursday’s meetings.

These countries are NATO’s Easternmost Members and have become increasingly concerned about Russia’s actions in the area. They border Ukraine and thousands of refugees flood in from nearby countries.

Senior administration officials stated that Harris will be focusing on how NATO members can apply the economic sanctions and how they can keep aligned to move forward together.

According to them, she would also meet with Ukrainian refugee in Poland and discuss the continuation of humanitarian and security assistance for Ukraine and its region. Over 2 million refugees have been created since the invasion.

According to them, the vice president will meet with Justin Trudeau from Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada, about the problems in Warsaw.

One official stated that “a lot of our conversations in these capitals will focus on establishing next steps…and how we move forward.”

This Eastern Europe trip follows Harris’ visit to Germany to attend a security conference. Harris met with U.S. partners, including President Volodymyr Zilenskiy of Ukraine. The goal was to maintain unity among European allies as the Russian invasion in Ukraine was imminent.

It is an indication of President Joe Biden’s increased faith in Harris’s abilities to execute high-stakes diplomacy. The administration is trying to calm nervous allies and continue to fight to isolate Moscow internationally, even though the US attempts to avoid conflict with Russia.

As part of its defence against Russian invasion, Ukraine rejected an offer made by the United States to move its MiG-29 fighter planes from Russia to its base in Germany.

According to U.S. officials, a dialog will continue on security assistance for Ukraine. However, they didn’t give details as to how vice president Mike Pence plans to handle the situation in Poland.

One official said that Harris would use this trip to remind Russia that Putin has committed a serious mistake and that Russia will be defeated.

Kremlin describes the Kremlin’s actions as a special operation to destroy Ukraine and remove leaders it labels neo Nazis.