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U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin concluded their visit to Kyiv. Blinken said that American diplomats would gradually return to Ukraine. Austin said that the Ukrainian army was well-equipped and would be able to defeat Russia. The White House announced on Monday the nomination of senior diplomat Brinker as the plenipotentiary ambassador to Ukraine, increasing military support; Zelensky thanked the United States for its support on Monday, saying that the “unprecedented” military aid totaling $3.4 billion is “critical to strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities.” important.
Blinken and Austin visited Kyiv on Sunday, and Blinken said U.S. diplomats would gradually return to Ukraine this week and announced military aid worth $700 million.
Agence France-Presse reported that the U.S. side confirmed the trip after Blinken and Austin left Ukrainian territory after their visit.
Blinken and Austin arrived in Poland on the 23rd and entered Ukraine by land on the 24th to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials, a senior State Department official said.
Austin and Blinken returned to the Polish capital, Warsaw, from Kyiv on Monday. Austin said Ukraine can win the war with Russia as long as it has a good military.
Washington has pledged $322 million in military aid, and the U.S. State Department has approved the sale of $165 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine.
The U.S. has announced an additional $700 million in direct and indirect military aid to Ukraine and has recently stepped up shipments of military equipment that Zelensky has been demanding from the West.
The United States is now supplying heavy weapons to counter the Russian offensive, which has been concentrated in eastern and southern Ukraine after Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv region in late March.
Zelensky on Monday thanked the United States and President Biden for their strong support for Ukraine. He stressed that the “unprecedented” US military aid of $3.4 billion is “critical to strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities.”
The U.K. estimates that Russia has lost “about 15,000 troops” in Ukraine so far, according to U.S. Defense Secretary Austin, a figure that could not be independently verified. Russia has not provided any battle damage figures since March 25, after it said it lost 1,351 soldiers.
Separately, the U.S. government announced Monday that President Biden plans to nominate veteran diplomat Bridget A. Brink as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Ukraine. Ukraine is under full Russian aggression, and Brinker, who speaks Russian, has rich diplomatic experience and is favored by Biden.
The White House said in a statement that Brinker “has 25 years of experience in the U.S. foreign service, primarily working to advance U.S. policy in Europe and Eurasia.”
Brinker also served as deputy ambassador to the U.S. embassies in Uzbekistan and Georgia, and early in his career in Belgrade and Cyprus.
Agence France-Presse reported that the US ambassador to Ukraine has been vacant since 2019. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelens on Sunday that Biden was preparing to nominate Brinker as ambassador.
Brinker’s appointment must be approved by the U.S. Senate. At present, the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate are evenly matched, but given the urgency of the situation in Ukraine, her appointment is expected to pass.
Blinken also told Zelensky that the United States intends to have diplomats return to Kyiv this week. U.S. diplomats left Kyiv months ago to open offices in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and neighboring Poland instead.
While some European embassies in Kyiv have reopened, U.S. diplomats will return to Kyiv in a gradual manner, a U.S. State Department official said.