Near the Polish-Ukrainian border – After a secretive visit to Kyiv, US Secretary of State Blinken said Russia is missing its war goals and “Ukraine is succeeding”. The trip by Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was the highest-level American visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia invaded in late February.
Top Washington officials told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers that the US would provide more than $300 million in foreign military financing and had already approved a $165 million ammunition sale.
“We had the opportunity to directly demonstrate our strong continued support for the Ukrainian government and people. In our opinion, this was an important moment to be there and have detailed face-to-face talks,” Blinken told reporters on Monday near the Polish-Ukrainian border, after returning from Kyiv.
Image provided by the Pentagon shows U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left) and Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy April 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Department of Defense via AP
Austin said Zelenskyy’s response to the help was a deep appreciation for what was given, but “he has an attitude that they want to win and we have an attitude that we want to help them win.” said the victory would mean, from the US perspective, that Russia would be “weakened” militarily.
In a video of the meeting later released by Zelenskyy’s office, Blinken commended the Ukrainian leader for the “extraordinary courage and leadership and success you have had in rolling back this horrific Russian aggression.”
“We’re used to seeing you on video around the world, but it’s great, it’s good to see you in person,” Blinken says with a smile.
Blinken also said US diplomats returning to Ukraine would likely re-staff the consulate in Lviv in western Ukraine before returning to the capital. They previously said diplomats would begin returning this week. The US Embassy in Kyiv will remain closed for the time being.
Austin said at the press conference that “the world was inspired by wartime Ukraine” and that America would continue its support.
“What you did in repelling the Russians at the Battle of Kyiv is extraordinary,” he said.
Zelenskyi had announced on Saturday that he would meet with US officials in Kyiv on Sunday, but the Biden administration has declined to confirm this and declined to discuss details of a possible visit, despite planning for more than a week was in progress.
Journalists who traveled to Poland with Austin and Blinken were not allowed to cover the trip until the end, were not allowed to accompany them on their overland route to Ukraine, and were not allowed to indicate where in south-east Poland they were waiting for the US cabinet members to return. State Department and Pentagon officials cited security concerns.
Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speak to reporters in Poland near the Ukrainian border April 25, 2022 after returning from their secret trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Alex Brandon/AP
Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that Ukrainian troops holed up at a steelworks in the strategic port city of Mariupol are tying down Russian forces and preventing them from going on the offensive elsewhere in the Donbass.
The ministry added that Russia has so far made only “marginal progress in some areas since shifting its focus to full occupation of the Donbass,” the eastern industrial heartland where Moscow-backed separatists controlled some areas before the war.
As the focus shifts to Russia, Austin said, Ukraine’s military needs are changing, and Zelenskyy is now focusing on more tanks, artillery and other ammunition.
“The type of combat has evolved because the terrain they’re focusing on now is a different type of terrain, so they need long-range fire,” Austin said.
When asked what the US considers a success, Austin said, “We want Ukraine to remain a sovereign country, a democratic country, capable of protecting its sovereign territory and invading Ukraine.”
U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink U.S. Department of State/Handout
On the diplomatic front, Blinken Zelenskyy gave an early warning about Mr Biden’s Monday morning announcement of his appointment of veteran diplomat Bridget Brink as the next US ambassador to Ukraine.
As a civil servant in the foreign service, Brink has been ambassador to Slovakia since 2019. She has previously served in Serbia, Cyprus, Georgia and Uzbekistan and on the White House National Security Council. The post is subject to confirmation by the US Senate.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was due to travel to Turkey on Monday and then on to Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said it was a mistake for Guterres to visit Russia before Ukraine. “Why? To pass signals from Russia? Zelenskyy said Saturday. “There are no bodies scattered on Kutuzovsky Prospect,” he said, referring to one of Moscow’s main streets.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who bolstered support for Ukraine, easily won a second term on Sunday, beating far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, who had promised to dilute France’s ties with the European Union and NATO. Le Pen had also opposed EU sanctions on Russian energy and had come under scrutiny during the campaign for her past friendliness with the Kremlin.
In northern Ukraine, on the Russian side of the border, a fire broke out at an oil storage facility early Monday, but no immediate cause of the oil storage tank fire was given.
Austin and Blinken announced a combined US$713 million in foreign military funding for Ukraine and 15 allied and partner countries; about 322 million dollars are earmarked for Kyiv. The remainder will be divided among NATO members and other nations that have supplied Ukraine with critical military supplies since the war with Russia began, officials said.
Such funding differs from previous US military aid to Ukraine. This is not a donation from US Department of Defense siphoning stocks, but rather cash that countries can use to purchase supplies they may need.
The new money, along with the sale of $165 million in non-US-made ammunition compatible with Soviet-era weapons used by Ukrainians, brings the total amount of American military aid to Ukraine to 3, $7 billion since the invasion, officials said.
Zelenskyy had urged the Americans not to come empty-handed. US officials said they believed the new aid would satisfy at least some of Ukrainians’ urgent requests for more aid. New artillery, including howitzers, continues to be delivered at a rapid pace to Ukraine’s military, which is being trained for use in neighboring countries, officials said.
Mr Biden has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of genocide for the destruction and death of Ukraine. On Thursday, Mr. Biden said he would provide Ukraine with a new $800 million military aid package that includes heavy artillery and drones.
Congress last month approved $6.5 billion in military aid as part of $13.6 billion in spending for Ukraine and its allies in response to the Russian invasion.
Blinken departed from Poland to return to Washington, while Austin drove Tuesday to a meeting of NATO defense ministers and other donor countries in Ramstein, Germany.
Zelenskyy’s meeting with US officials took place as Ukrainians and Russians celebrated Orthodox Easter. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, spoke of Kiev’s ancient St. Sophia Cathedral, stressing its importance to a nation ravaged by nearly two months of war.
“The great holiday today gives us great hope and unshakable belief that light will overcome darkness, good will overcome evil, life will overcome death and therefore Ukraine will surely win!” he said.
But the war cast a shadow over the celebrations. In the northern village of Ivanivka, where Russian tanks are still littering the streets, resident Olena Koptyl said: “The Easter holidays bring no joy. i cry a lot We cannot forget how we lived.”
Putin attended the Orthodox Easter service in Moscow on Sunday.
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