2bc3905d> (5/5) reports that Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will accompany Blinken on the trip. According to the AP, Nuland's mere presence in the Ukraine "is likely to irritate Russia," since, as "a Russia hawk," she is "reviled by the Kremlin." Reuters <https://vvww.re

" The AE (5/5) reports that Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will accompany Blinken on the trip. According to the AP, Nuland's mere presence in the Ukraine "is likely to irritate Russia," since, as "a Russia hawk," she is "reviled by the Kremlin." Reuters (5/5, Williams,

" The AP (5/5) reports that Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will accompany Blinken on the trip. According to the AP, Nuland's mere presence in the Ukraine "is likely to irritate Russia," since, as "a Russia hawk," she is "reviled by the Kremlin." Reuters (5/5, Williams,

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alls, but because it puts U.S. policy in Ukraine in a new light and forces us to reconsider U.S. strategy toward EFTA00684682 Russia and Germany. Nuland's cell phone conversation is hardly definitive, but it is an additional indicator of American strategic thinking. Recent U.S. Foreign Policy Shifts

nistration had no intention of arming the rebels. As for coordinating arms shipments, presumably from Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Nuland described the White House's role much more vaguely. "This is a loose coordination mechanism," she said. Then on May 24, the AP reported that the "O