The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, warned this Thursday of the risk of a "dangerous escalation" in the war in Ukraine, following the recent increase in Russian attacks, and pointed out that the conflict could spill over Ukrainian borders in light of the possibility of sabotage against NATO allied countries.
"This is an extremely dangerous war because right now it seems to be at a standstill. And standstills are very dangerous," said the head of U.S. diplomacy, who emphasized that such situations are only unlocked through a negotiated exit or when one of the parties "escalates" the conflict.
"One of the parties, the other, or both intensify what they are doing to try to bend the other party and break the deadlock," he added, stressing that it is "very dangerous" in the case of the war between Russia and Ukraine "because that escalation could end up becoming a sabotage campaign in neighboring countries that are NATO members."
"There could be many other things that could happen and that would quickly transform what is a war between two countries into a much broader and much more dangerous regional conflict," he pointed out, warning that the struggle could lead to a regional spiral.
Rubio insisted that this scenario should push "both parties to sit at the table and be willing to negotiate an agreement that ends this war."
"Ultimately, we do not believe there is a military solution to this conflict, to this war. We believe this war must end through a negotiated agreement, the sooner the better, and the United States is prepared to facilitate it," he reiterated.
The U.S. Secretary of State clarified, however, that Washington will not "invest in useless processes" if no real progress is made. "In many cases, it has been shown that this is counterproductive. We would very much like to see a negotiated agreement for this war that is permanent, lasting, and fair. And that is what we are committed to continue working on," he emphasized.
Meanwhile, on the ground, at least 33 people have lost their lives and around twenty more have been injured this Thursday in an attack by the Russian Army against the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. This bombing adds to another wave of attacks recorded on Wednesday in the Chernihiv region, which caused around thirty deaths and led the authorities to declare a day of national mourning.