US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a “surprise visit” to Kiev on Sunday, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials, becoming the highest-ranking American officials who have traveled to the country since the beginning of the Russian invasion. .
Although Zelensky announced the visit at a press conference on Saturday (23), US authorities refused to confirm the information until early Monday morning (25).
In Kiev, Blinken and Austin met Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky for a roughly 90-minute meeting, a senior official at the Department said. of state.
Blinken said US diplomats would return to Ukraine this week, in a strong message of solidarity from the United States, with the appointment of Bridget Brink as US ambassador to the country. Brink is the current US Ambassador to Slovakia.
In addition, Blinken and Austin discussed deliveries of recent US military assistance to Ukraine, ongoing training for Ukrainian soldiers, and the Biden administration’s intention to provide additional military funding to help Ukraine transition to NATO-capable systems.
US government officials made it clear that the US military would not yet be directly involved in the war. “The president has made it very clear that there will be no US troops fighting in Ukraine,” said a defense official.
Source: CNN Brasil
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