The head of American diplomacy was on a stealth trip to Ukraine this Sunday, April 24, 2022. Blinken was able to meet with members of the kyiv government and discuss future military aid. Here’s what you need to know about this visit.
The US Secretary of State and US Secretary of Defense used their visit to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, to announce a phased return of US diplomats to Ukraine and new security assistance, officials said.
Blinken and Austin on a sneak visit
Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin traveled to Ukraine on Sunday, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky and senior officials, said a State Department official, who refrained from discussing details of their trip. The visit was intended to show Western support for Ukraine, as well as announce new aid worth $713 million (661 million euros) for the Ukrainian government and others. countries in the region.
The Russian army made the choice in March to leave northern Ukraine, in order to redeploy in the east of the country and prepare a major offensive in the Donbass, which enabled foreign leaders to go to Kyiv in recent weeks. Officials declined media requests to accompany the secretaries of state and defense to Ukraine, citing security concerns. Journalists in Poland were briefed on the condition that the trip would not be reported until the delegation had safely left Ukraine.
New military funding
Lloyd Austin will travel to Germany to meet his counterparts from G20 member nations and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss Ukraine’s defense needs, a Pentagon official said. Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin spoke with Volodimir Zelensky, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kouleba, Defense Minister Oleksi Rezkinov and other Ukrainian officials for approximately 90 minutes.
Senior U.S. officials announced to Volodimir Zelensky new foreign military funding of more than $322 million, bringing total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine since the invasion began to about 3 $.7 billion, the official said.
Give Ukraine the support it needs
“This will provide Ukraine with the support it needs, especially in the Donbass,” the official said. “This aid will also enable the Ukrainian military to transition to more advanced weapons and air defense systems, essentially systems capable of working with NATO.” Nearly $400 million in new foreign military funding will also go to 15 other nations in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the official said.
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