As they arrived in Kyiv on Sunday to demonstrate their support for Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announced the reopening of the US embassy in Kyiv as well as new military help. The US President is expected to commit USD 713 million in new military financing for Ukraine and 15 other Eastern European countries in order to arm Ukraine with more advanced weapons and air defence systems, according to a State Department official. This brings the US total military aid to Kyiv to USD 3.7 billion since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, according to The New York Times.
According to authorities, the financing is designed to help the Ukrainian military in their struggle for the Donbas area by letting them utilize more powerful weaponry and air defense systems. According to The New York Times, the aid will also be used to purchase munitions for Soviet-designed weapons like rockets, assault rifles, and machine guns that are still employed by the Ukrainian army. The US team, led by Blinken and Austin III, arrived in Kyiv after many leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The US delegation informed the Ukrainian President that the US will reopen its embassy in Kyiv and choose an American ambassador to oversee it. This is the first time since 2019.
According to a senior State Department official, President Biden plans to nominate Bridget Brink, the current US ambassador to Slovakia, to be ambassador to Ukraine on Monday morning. According to a US State Department official, American diplomats will begin crossing the border into Ukraine this week, and the Kyiv embassy will reopen as soon as possible to begin re-establishing relations around the nation in person.
According to The New York Times, the upcoming changes were mentioned in briefings to reporters in Poland by US officials. They were not allowed to talk publicly about upcoming policy changes. Having provided Ukraine with financial and military assistance, as well as leading the international sanctions campaign against Russia. The visit by the US’s top diplomat and defence officer was organized in extreme secrecy. Meanwhile, the United States authorized further military support for Ukraine in the amount of USD 800 million on Thursday.
Leaders from the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, Spain, and Denmark have all recently visited the nation. Furthermore, the European Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, visited both Kyiv and Bucha, where journalists and investigators discovered evidence of crimes and mass graves. On February 24, Russia started a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, which the West has described as an unprovoked war. As a response, Western countries imposed a slew of devastating sanctions on Moscow.
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