As Ukraine’s counteroffensive grinds on, Blinken visits Kyiv in show of support

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress in August to approve about US$40 billion in additional spending, including US$24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv on Wednesday in a gesture of support for Ukraine as its three-month-old counteroffensive against Russian forces grinds on with only small gains.

During his two-day visit, Blinken is likely to announce a new package of U.S. wartime assistance worth more than US$1 billion, a senior State Department official told reporters on the trip.

Blinken, the first top U.S. official to visit Kyiv since the counteroffensive began in early June, began talks with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and was due to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the official said.

“We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive, but has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,” Blinken said standing alongside Kuleba.

“We’re also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy.”

Media reports have cited unidentified U.S. officials as saying the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been too slow and hindered by poor tactics – criticism that angered Ukrainian officials and prompted Kuleba to tell critics to “shut up.”

Ukraine has retaken more than a dozen villages and small settlements in its offensive. But its push into Russian-held territory has been slowed by minefields and trenches, and Russian air strikes have continued across Ukraine, with Kyiv coming under attack only hours before Blinken’s arrival.

U.S. officials have not publicly criticized Ukraine’s military tactics, and last week said they had seen notable Ukrainian progress in the previous 72 hours of its push in the southeast.