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Details Trickle Out About Blinken and Austin’s Kyiv Meeting With Zelensky

Late Sunday, new aid was announced, along with news that Biden would name his ambassador to Ukraine and return diplomats to Kyiv.

Specifics about U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have finally begun coming out: The U.S. will offer $300 million in foreign military financing and sell $165 million in ammunition to Ukraine, the AP reports. Also from the meeting, which is the first instance of a U.S. official visiting Ukraine since Russia invaded, comes news that President Joe Biden will announce his nominee for ambassador to Ukraine and send diplomats back to Kyiv in a week. Blinken and Austin’s visit was announced in a Saturday speech by Zelensky, who said he was looking to discuss military assistance with the officials. Although it was announced last week that the U.S. would be giving $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, the Biden administration had been under increasing pressure to send officials to the country itself, especially after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s high-profile visit. The United Nations said Friday that Secretary-General António Guterres would visit Ukraine and Russia this week.