Day 61 Of The Invasion Of Ukraine: US Will Return Its Diplomats To Kyiv And Send More Financial Aid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talked with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, who arrived in Kyiv last night.
The two promised a gradual return of US diplomats to the Ukrainian capital this week, a senior State Department official said after leaving Kyiv. In addition, Blinken and Austin have announced the provision of more than $700 million in additional direct and indirect military aid to Ukraine.
At the heart of their talks with President, Volodymyr Zelensky was Kyiv’s demand for heavier weapons to stop the Russian offensive in southern and eastern Ukraine.
The $713 million aid will be distributed between Ukraine and 15 other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. About $322 million is for Kyiv. The rest are allies who have sent aid to Ukraine since the start of the war to get the weapons they need.
The total amount of military supplies from the United States to Ukraine reached 3.7 billion dollars.
“We do not know how the war will develop from now on, but we know that the existence of a sovereign, independent Ukraine will last much longer than the presence of Vladimir Putin. We will continue to support Ukraine until final success is achieved,” said Antony Blinken at a press conference after the visit, adding that it is an expression of American support for the leadership of Ukraine. He added that he had talked with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will visit Moscow and Kyiv this week, to convey a strong message to President Putin to end the war, a truce to be achieved and the evacuation of civilians from dangerous areas to finally occur.
Moscow, for its part, has sent a note to Washington calling for an end to US arms supplies to Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.
“Have we served a note – yes, we have emphasized that it is an unacceptable situation in which the United States is filling Ukraine with weapons,” he said, adding that Russia had called for an end to the practice.
Blinken and Austin are the first US government officials to visit Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The war, which entered its third month, killed thousands and killed 5,500 refugees. Kyiv is also seeking help for Ukrainians stranded in the ruined city of Mariupol. According to the mayor, more than 100,000 people are still there and cannot be evacuated. Ukraine‘s defense in Mariupol is on the verge of collapse, admitted Oleksiy Arestovych, an aide to President Zelensky. He also said that high-ranking US officials would not have come to Kyiv if “they were not ready to give up weapons”.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said that Russian troops not only did not respond to calls for a ceasefire but also prevented the population from leaving Mariupol and seeking refuge in the interior of Ukraine.
In addition to the ceasefire, Kyiv insists on safe and several-day humanitarian corridors for civilians who want to leave Mariupol and go to Kyiv-controlled territories. Authorities in Kyiv will also demand the release or exchange of their fighters, who are still trapped at the Azovstal plant.
Earlier yesterday, Zelensky spoke with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mediate a truce in Mariupol. Turkey views “in principle positively” the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine after the end of the war with Russia. This was stated in a statement issued by the presidential institution in Ankara after Erdogan’s telephone conversation with Zelensky. Ukraine is pushing for collective security guarantees in exchange for its refusal to join NATO, pushed by Russian demands.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his re-election and said the French president was a “true friend of Ukraine“.
“Congratulations to the president and true friend Emmanuel Macron on his election victory,” Zelensky wrote on his Twitter account earlier this morning.
Macron is seeking a diplomatic solution to halt the Russian invasion of Ukraine. France has sent significant quantities of weapons to Ukraine and plans more deliveries.