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\"There is no change. There will be no change,\" he told reporters. \"I can't be more clear -- NATO's door is open, remains open, and that is our commitment.\"

Blinken and Lavrov will speak in the coming days once Russia has reviewed the U.S. response, the top U.S. diplomat said. While there are fears that Russia is using the diplomatic exchange as pretext to attack Ukraine, saying diplomacy failed to address their concerns, Blinken said the U.S. would not be the one to end talks, even as it prepares sanctions and readies NATO deployments.

\"You may be right, that Russia is not serious about this at all. But we have an obligation to test that proposition, to pursue the diplomatic path,\" he said. \"The point is we're prepared either way.\"

Blinken's comments follow Biden saying Tuesday there could be some U.S. troop movements in the \"nearer term\" -- and that he would consider personally sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine -- a day after 8,500 American forces were put on \"heightened alert\" in the region.

\"PHOTO:
Pool via ABC News
PHOTO: Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Jan. 26, 2022.
>

But in Ukraine, leaders have offered a different assessment from that put forward by the White House that a full-scale Russian attack is imminent.

During a news conference on Wednesday, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said they believe Russia’s forces are currently “insufficient” for a full-scale invasion and that right now the Kremlin is seeking to destabilize Ukraine with the threat of attack and other means, not yet actually launching one.

In a televised address to the nation Tuesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged people to stay calm about the threat of a Russian attack and said there was work in progress to bring about a meeting between him and the leaders of Russia, France and Germany.

\"Protect your body from viruses, your brain from lies, your heart from panic,” Zelenskiy said.

\"PHOTO:
Nicholas Pilch/U.S. Air Force
PHOTO: U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 60th Aerial Port Squadron load cargo on to a 757 at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Jan. 22, 2022.
>

The White House and State Department have defended the administration's decisions and rhetoric, denying that drawing down the embassy, putting 8,500 U.S. troops on alert, and warning of an \"imminent\" threat have escalated the situation.

Asked on Tuesday about the criticism from Kyiv that the U.S. is giving into Russia's playbook, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price denied the U.S. created a \"panic.\"

\"We have been clear about our concerns. We have been clear about the depth of those concerns,\" Price said. \"Given what we're seeing on Ukraine's borders, what we're seeing in what should be an independent sovereign country of Belarus, with the Russian military buildup there, what we're seeing with preparations for potential hybrid operations -- all of this is cause for concern, but certainly no one is calling for panic.\"

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