US Secretary of State Anthony Blinkon arrived today in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, located near the Ukrainian border, BTA reported, citing Reuters.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have arrived in Poland since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 1791

In Poland, the US Secretary of State met with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, the AP reported.

Blinkon said his visit to the country was "one of the most urgent moments" in the long history of relations between the two countries and that the United States will continue to deploy US troops in Poland. 

Rau said Poland has received more than 700,000 refugees from Ukraine and expects hundreds of thousands more to arrive unless Russia gives in.

"Poland will never recognize the territorial changes achieved through unprovoked and unlawful aggression," said Poland's top diplomat, adding that the country would insist on an investigation into alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. 

The flow of refugees from Ukraine to Poland continues

After meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Blinkon, he also spoke with Prime Minister Morawiecki, saying the two agreed on the need to strengthen NATO's eastern flank, as well as the European security architecture in general.

Poland wants more US forces on its territory, and there are currently more than 10,000 US troops there.

The two leaders also discussed imposing more sanctions on Russia and freezing Russian assets, which Moravetsky said should be "crushing" for the Russian economy.

The Polish Prime Minister pointed out that all Russian banks should be excluded from the international financial system SWIFT.

Currently, all Russian banks, except the largest, have been removed from the financial messaging service.

Blinkon: The war in Ukraine will not end soon

Before arriving in Poland, Blinkon was in Brussels, where he met yesterday with foreign ministers from NATO, the G-7 and the EU to discuss efforts to deter Russia through a program of tougher sanctions.

The alliance did not accept Ukraine's demands to close its airspace, Reuters reported.

Blinkon said during a visit to Brussels that NATO wants to prevent the conflict from spreading beyond Ukraine's borders.

"We do not want a conflict, but if it comes to us, we will be ready and we will protect every inch of NATO territory," said the US Secretary of State.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Anthony Blinkon