US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kiev on Tuesday morning in a surprise visit to reassure Ukrainians about the United States' continued support for their country and the supply of weapons.
Blinken, who is making his fourth visit to Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation in February 2022, arrived on a night train from Poland, to meet in particular with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This visit, which was not previously announced, comes a few weeks after the US Congress approved, after a long delay, a huge aid package for Ukraine worth $61 billion.
On board the train that took Blinken to Kiev, a senior US State Department official told reporters, requesting that his name not be published, that “this trip aims first to send a strong signal to reassure the Ukrainians who are clearly in a very difficult situation, whether due to the intensification of fighting on the Eastern Front.” Or because the Russians are now expanding their attacks across the border into Kharkiv.”
He pointed out that "the US Secretary, in particular, intends to explain to Ukrainian officials in detail the manner in which our assistance will be put into practice in a way that strengthens their defenses and allows them to regain the initiative on the battlefield."
The last visit by a high-ranking American official to Ukraine dates back to last March, and the visitor that day was Jack Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security advisor.