US State Department, Washington -- For the first time since the war between Russia and Ukraine began, US officials visited Ukraine on Monday for a secret 3-hour-lonmg meeting with Valodomry Zelenskyy. “He has the mindset that they want to win, and we have the mindset that we want to help them win,” Austin told reporters in Poland, a day later. Blinken and Austin were the highest level of officials to visit the region and the to step foot on Ukraine soil following several American leaders, inclusing Vice President Kamala Harris visiting Poland in March.
“We had an opportunity to demonstrate directly our strong ongoing support for the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people,” Blinken said. “This was, in our judgment, an important moment to be there, to have face-to-face conversations in detail.”
They assured Zelenskyy that the U.S. will continue to help them reach the goal of defeating the Vladmir Putin's Russia. The U.S. will continue to offer funding to supportthe Ukraine's militaristic needs they said. Speaking to Zelenskyy other his advisers they sahred that the U.S. will provide more than $300 million in foreign military financing and had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition. Last Thursday, Biden said he would provide a new package of $800 million in military aid to Ukraine that included heavy artillery and drones.
Austin said that now that Russia has shifted its focus to the Donbas area it is a different war an the needs have also shifted.
They discussed the trip with the press in southeastern Poland. Excerpts of this conversationa are below:
"This was, in our judgment, an important moment to be there, an important moment for Ukraine, for the war — an important moment to have face-to-face conversations in detail about the extraordinary support that we’ve provided: security, economic, humanitarian, as well as the massive pressure that we've been exerting on Russia," Blinken said.
Zelenskyy expressed deep appreciation for President Joe Biden's leadership and for the incredible generosity and support of the American people, Blinken said.
"In turn, we expressed deep admiration for his leadership, for the extraordinary courage of Ukrainians in standing up to and pushing back this Russian aggression," he said.
Discussions included returning U.S. diplomats to Ukraine starting next week, and Biden's intent to nominate a new ambassador to Ukraine, Ambassador Bridget Brink, who is currently the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, Blinken said.
"Russia continues to try to brutalize parts of the country, and the death and destruction that we continue to see is horrific. But Ukrainians are standing up, they're standing strong and they’re doing that with the support that we have coordinated from literally around the world," Blinken said.
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