Russia cannot block Ukraine's NATO aspirations, says US Secretary of Defence

No third country has a veto on Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told a briefing on a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday, when asked about Russian objections to Ukraine's entry into the military alliance.

Austin said "no third country has a veto over NATO's membership decisions. Ukraine, as you heard me say earlier, has a right to decide its own future foreign policy and we expect that they will be able to do that without any outside interference."

Austin also said that Russia started the conflict in eastern Ukraine and was an obstacle to its peaceful resolution.