Antony Blinken visited Kyiv on Wednesday to find out the latest news about the Ukrainian counter-offensive, CNN informed.
Since the beginning of war in Ukraine in February 2022, this is the third visit of the State Secretary to the capital of Ukraine. Today it is sparked by concerns the coordinated counteroffensive being not as effective as expected. The State Secretary arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday morning after an overnight train ride from Poland, as did almost all high-ranking guests of the war-torn city, including Biden.
In April 2022, Blinken traveled with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, just weeks after Russian troops were withdrawn from areas north of the Ukrainian capital. His second trip took place in September last year when Ukraine’s first major counteroffensive was underway in the Kharkiv region.
The visit of Washington’s top diplomat is an opportunity for the United States and Ukraine to unite ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later this month, according to a State Department official accompanying Mr. Blinken.
The Ukrainians have an important mission in New York to continue to explain – to their allies and partners around the world – what’s going on and their continued need for support. And it’s important for us to continue to lead that global effort to support them.
Some American officials are criticising the counteroffensive strategy chosen by Ukraine. However, the official, not reacting on that, only said that the time to come and evaluate the progress had come. He also added that Ukraine’s recent advancement in the southern and eastern directions is “impressive.”
We want to see, hear, how they intend to push forward in the coming weeks.
Blinken’s trip to Kyiv took place almost a month after President Joe Biden had requested Congress to allocate more than $24 billion to help Ukraine defeat Russia in the ongoing war, as some polls showed that American public support for continued funding was beginning to wane. This visit will help the administration justify the need to continue supporting Ukraine, the official said.
Blinken echoed Biden’s argument for supporting Ukraine stating that it was about “dictators and autocrats not being able to bite off a piece of their neighbor and get to keep it live that way with impunity.”
When asked whether the new support package would include depleted uranium ammunition, the official made no official comment.
