Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kiev in the evening. Visitors from the United States were “talking to the president at that moment,” Zelenskyy’s adviser, Oleksiy Arestovich, said in an interview on the YouTube video platform.
According to Zelensky, the talks with Blinken and Austin were about US arms supplies to the Ukrainian military. Arestovich reiterated that ministers would not have come unless they were “ready” to deliver more. Late in the evening, Zelenskyi wrote on Twitter that “the US-Ukraine friendship and partnership is stronger than ever.” The US Department of State declined to provide any information about the trip.
Blinken and Austin’s visit coincided with the celebration of Orthodox Easter in many places yesterday, despite continued Russian attacks. “Our souls are filled with fierce hatred for the invaders and everything they have done,” Zelenskyy said, adding, “Don’t let anger destroy us from the inside.”