Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the United States knows the urgency of the situation in Ukraine, and that Ukrainian forces will be getting the support they need.
During a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv, Blinken said the Biden administration is working to deliver as quickly as possible a new round of aid authorized in late April.
“I’m here in part as a show of support, but much more important than a trip or a visit is the fact that that support in very concrete terms is very much on the way,” Blinken said.
Kuleba said his country sees the U.S. stands by Ukraine, and that Ukraine “will be able to endure any hardships that Russia will try to impose on us.”
“This is a very timely visit, because it sends a message of encouragement not only to the people of Ukraine but most importantly to the troops, to our soldiers who are heroically defending Ukraine in the south, in the east, in the northeast near Kharkiv where Russia tries to expand the war zone,” Kuleba said.
Russia on Wednesday said its forces seized two more settlements in the Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have been intensifying their offensive.
The Russian push in northeastern Ukraine prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office to announce Wednesday the cancelation of all of his upcoming foreign visits.
Before their talks, Kuleba and Blinken laid wreaths at the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv.
Russia’s defense ministry reported Wednesday destroying 10 missiles over Russia-occupied Crimea, as well as nine drones and multiple missiles over the western Russian region of Belgorod and several drones over both the Kursk and Bryansk regions.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor of Belgorod, reported two people were injured and seven homes were damaged as a result of Ukrainian attacks.