U.S Secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is currently at Kyiv, in a surprise diplomatic visit designed to underline the United States’s support for Ukraine.
Blinken’s visit is his fourth since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. He was last in the country in September last year.
It also marks the first visit to Ukraine by a senior US official since Congress passed a long-delayed $61bn military aid package in April.
Blinken arrived in Kyiv by train early on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, morning.
“I returned to Kyiv today to demonstrate our unwavering support for Ukraine as they defend their freedom against Russian aggression,” Blinken said on X.
US officials acknowledge that the slowdown in U.S support, due to congressional infighting, has exacerbated a challenging situation for Ukraine.
Blinken met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and promised the U.S aid would make “a real difference against the Russian aggression on the battlefield.”
“The assistance is now on the way, some of it has already arrived and more of it will be arriving,” Blinken disclosed.
He also praised the “extraordinary courage of the Ukrainian people.”
“We’re equally determined that over time, Ukraine stands strongly on its own feet: militarily, economically, democratically. A strong, successful, thriving, free Ukraine is the best possible rebuke to Putin.”
Antony Blinken
A senior official travelling with Blinken told a news agency that artillery, air defence systems and long-range ballistic missiles had already been delivered to Ukraine since the aid package was approved.
The official said that some of the supplemental support is already on the front lines.
The official added specifically, the U.S has started to flow in ATACMS missile systems “particularly with an eye towards Russia’s activities right now in Kharkiv.”
On his part, Zelenskyy lauded the “crucial” U.S aid and thanked Washington for bipartisan support.
He said that Ukraine’s biggest deficit for now was in air defence, telling Blinken that Kyiv needs two Patriot air defence batteries for the northeastern region of Kharkiv, which has come under Russian air strikes.
“Civilians, warriors, everybody – they are under Russian missiles,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine’s top General, Oleksandr Syrskyi admitted that the situation in the northern Kharkiv region has “significantly worsened” after Russia claimed to have captured four further villages as it expanded its surprise cross-border offensive.
A Ukrainian regional official insisted that Russia’s progress was not yet “significant” but admitted ground fighting in the area was spreading.
The Ukrainian President said that he also wanted to discuss security guarantees with the U.S.
In addition, he asked Blinken to rally support from more countries at an upcoming high-level peace summit set to take place in Switzerland in June.
Blinken To Meet Ukrainian Prime Minister
According to the State Department, U.S Secretary of state, Antony Blinken is also set to hold meetings with Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, along with engagements with civil society and private sector stakeholders.
The State Department noted that they will “discuss battlefield updates, the impact of new US security and economic assistance, long-term security and other commitments, and ongoing work to bolster Ukraine’s economic recovery.”
Blinken is also due to give a speech in Kyiv.
He is expected to laud Ukraine’s “strategic successes” in the war, an attempt to provide some positive messaging amid the current gloom over Ukraine’s prospects of winning the war.
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