The Kremlin on Wednesday said tension around Ukraine was increasing, pointing to weapons deliveries, military maneuvers and NATO aircraft flights, which it said Russia's international partners should pay attention to. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped to receive written answers to its proposals for sweeping security guarantees in the coming days. 

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Washington on Wednesday urged the United States to abandon plans to provide more weapons to Ukraine. 

"If the United States is truly committed to diplomatic efforts to resolve the intra-Ukrainian conflict, they should abandon plans to supply new batches of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Instead, Washington should use its influence on the Ukrainian authorities to convince them to stop sabotaging the Minsk Agreements," the embassy said in a statement on Facebook. 

Russia last month sent a draft agreement to NATO and a draft treaty to the U.S. both on security guarantees in Europe for the Western countries to consider. Moscow has asked Washington to prevent further eastward expansion of NATO and deny former Soviet republics accession to the alliance.  

Russia also demanded that the U.S. and NATO do not deploy offensive weapons in its neighboring countries.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday in a whistle-stop diplomatic push to defuse tensions with Moscow over Ukraine, warning that Russia could launch a new attack at "very short notice." He urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to choose the "peaceful path" on Ukraine. 

"I strongly, strongly hope that we can keep this on a diplomatic and peaceful path, but ultimately, that's going to be President Putin's decision," he said at the U.S. Embassy after he landed in the Ukrainian capital. 

Blinken will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and then travel to Berlin for talks with allies before going to Geneva to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after negotiations last week produced no breakthrough. 

(With input from agencies)