Day 60 following the Russian attack on Ukraine:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have at their meeting with the Ukrainian President Wolodimir Selenskij promised further US aid of 322 million dollars (297.68 million euros) in Kyiv. “This will support the military capabilities needed by Ukraine, particularly the fight in Donbass,” said a US State Department official.
Blinken announced that US diplomats who left Ukraine before the start of the Russian invasion would return to the country later this week, according to US media reports. This is a strong message of solidarity from the United States. President Joe Biden will soon nominate Bridget Brink as US ambassador to Ukraine. Brink is currently the US envoy to Slovakia.
Military aid to Eastern Europe
In addition, Biden wants to increase military aid for Ukraine and 15 other Eastern European countries by an estimated additional $ 713 million (around 662 million euros), the wrote New York Times. Among other things, this should enable the Ukrainian military to switch to more modern weapon systems.
“The aid will also help Ukraine’s armed forces transition to more advanced weaponry and air defense systems that are essentially NATO-ready,” the official added. Total US security aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion at the end of February is regarding $3.7 billion.
Zelensky announced Blinken and Austin’s visit at a press conference on Saturday. For security reasons, the visit of the two ministers to the Ukrainian capital was only confirmed by the United States following Austin and Blinken had left Ukrainian sovereign territory. During their stay in Kyiv, Blinken and Austin met Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky for a roughly 90-minute talk, the channel reported CNN.
