U.S. continues to believe that Putin will not stop at Ukraine - State Department

A Putin-led Russia, which has shown its readiness to conquer neighboring countries by force, does not plan to stop at Ukraine and continues to threaten other countries in the region.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said this at a briefing on Monday, December 18, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We continue to be concerned about Russia's aggression broadly," he said.

That is why, according to him, the U.S. administration insists on the need to continue supporting Ukraine.

"We don't assess that Putin would be satisfied and would stop at Ukraine if he were able to ultimately conquer Ukraine and subjugate it to Russia," Miller said.

In this regard, he noted that countries in Europe express the same concerns. That was one of the motivating factors for Finland to join NATO and for Sweden to seek to join NATO, Miller said.

He also stressed that Russia had shown a willingness and an eagerness to use its military to conquer its neighbors by force.

"So, of course, we want to take to try to deter that," Miller said.

The White House confirmed on December 18 that it was willing to negotiate and make compromises with the Republicans on border security and migration policy so that they do not block the approval of additional aid to Ukraine.