Kyiv, Ukraine: United States diplomats will begin a gradual return to Ukraine this week, Washington’s secretary of state and defence chief said on Monday, as they announced $700 million in military aid during their first war-time visit to Kyiv.
The trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin -- which the United States confirmed only after the two had left Ukrainian territory -- came as the invasion enters its third month, with thousands dead and millions displaced.
Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky met the US officials Sunday, as the port city of Mariupol’s defences were "on the brink of collapse" and Kyiv was in dire need of offensive weapons.
Washington ordered the withdrawal of its diplomats in the weeks prior to Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, but has been a leading donor of financial aid and weaponry to the country, and a key sponsor of sanctions targeting Moscow.
"Since the start of hostilities, we’ve had a team across the border in Poland who’s been handling this work for us," the official told reporters waiting for Blinken and Austin on the Polish side of the border.
"Starting this week, members of that team will be able to do day trips instead into Ukraine," he said. "Ultimately, (they will) resume presence in Kyiv." The visiting envoys also pledged another $700 million in military aid to Ukraine, including some $300 million to allow the country to purchase necessary weapons.
The United States has sent some $4 billion in military aid since Biden’s term began last year, and already announced on Thursday a new $800 million aid package to bolster Ukraine in their fight against Russian troops in the country’s east.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry on Monday announced a ceasefire around the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to allow a civilian evacuation from the industrial area that has been sheltering the remaining Ukrainian resistance in the port city.
Meantime, Britain is to send to Ukraine armoured vehicles able to fire missiles against invading Russian aircraft, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Monday.
In a related development, Moscow said Monday it was expelling 40 German diplomats in response to the "unfriendly decision" by Berlin to kick out Russian diplomats over the conflict in Ukraine.
