The head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, arrived in Kyiv this Wednesday for a surprise visit, during which new aid to the country is to be announced to counter the Russian invasion.
“We expect the Secretary of State to announce more than $1 billion. [931 milhões de euros, ao câmbio atual] in new US funds for Ukraine,” a senior State Department official told reporters.
This is Blinken’s fourth visit to the country since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
Upon arrival in Kyiv, Blinken laid a wreath at the Berkovets cemetery in honor of Ukrainian servicemen who died in the war, the American AP news agency reports.
Blinken is expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss ongoing counteroffensive and reconstruction efforts.
Washington will continue its efforts to ensure that the Ukrainians “have what they need at this stage of the battle,” said a State Department source quoted by France’s AFP news agency, on the condition that his name not be released.
It’s a technique “that can break through the Russian line of defense,” he said, acknowledging that air defense “remains a big priority.”
Since June, Ukraine has been conducting a counteroffensive against Russian troops, which occupy almost 20% of Ukraine’s territory in the south and east.
Kyiv has acknowledged that the counteroffensive has been slow, but Zelenskiy has railed against criticism abroad about modest progress.
The United States has said in recent days that Ukrainian forces have made significant gains, particularly in the south, but also in the east, in recent weeks.
Blinken’s visit will provide “a real assessment of the Ukrainians themselves,” the same official source in Washington added.
Blinken is spending the night in the Ukrainian capital for the first time since visiting Kyiv in January 2022, before the invasion, AP reported.
Washington officials say the Secretary of State’s decision is intended to send a symbolic signal of U.S. support for Ukraine.