Blinken Visits Kyiv at Key Moment for War, Ukraine Ties
KYIV, Ukraine—Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday in a visit aimed at signaling Washington’s support amid a slow-going counteroffensive and grumbling among some Republicans about the level of U.S. assistance for the country. Blinken is expected to announce more than $1 billion in additional aid for the country and to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the capital, a senior State Department official said.
He will also sit down with the country’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Blinken was greeted upon arrival in Kyiv by the U.S. ambassador, Bridget Brink.
Blinken’s plane-and-train journey to Kyiv from Washington at a key moment in the country’s struggle against Russia is the highest-profile U.S. visit to Ukraine since President Biden made an unannounced trip there in February. Hours before Blinken arrived, Kyiv was alerted to air attacks from Russia, including eight missiles and 25 Iranian drones across Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military.
Air defenses destroyed 23 targets. Ukrainian troops are battling to break through Russian fortifications in their country’s south, but even successfully piercing the line will only mark a start. A senior State Department official traveling with Blinken said the visit represented “perfect timing for us to align with the Ukrainian government on all of the main priorities that they have and that we have together." U.S.
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