US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit Wednesday, hours after Russia launched its first missile attack in a week against the Ukrainian capital.
After arriving in Kyiv, Blinken laid a wreath at the Berkovetske cemetery to commemorate members of the Ukrainian armed forces who lost their lives defending the country.
He is expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss the ongoing counteroffensive and reconstruction efforts.
Blinken’s visit is expected to include the announcement of new military aid of between $175 million to $200 million. Another larger military assistance package is expected later this week.
Other issues, including support for Ukraine’s war-torn economy will be discussed, building on Blinken’s June announcement in London of $1.3 billion in aid to help Kyiv rebuild, with a focus on modernizing its energy network that was bombarded by Russia last winter.
Overnight, Russia fired cruise missiles at Kyiv in the first aerial attack on the capital since Aug. 30, according to Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv’s regional military administration.
Debris from a downed missile struck the premises of a business in Kyiv, igniting a fire and causing damage to the company’s equipment. No casualties were reported.
In the Odesa region, meanwhile, one person was killed in a Russian missile and drone attack that hit Izmail port. The attack damaged grain elevators, administrative buildings, and agricultural enterprises, local authorities said.
The trip to Ukraine is Blinken’s fourth since the war began, including one very brief excursion over the Polish-Ukrainian border in March 2022, just a month after the Russian invasion.
However, it will mark the first time America’s top diplomat has spent the night in Ukraine’s capital since he visited Kyiv in January 2022, before the invasion.
Blinken's visit also follows the dismissal this week of Oleksii Reznikov who, as Ukraine's defense minister, had lobbied Washington and its allies for arms to fight the Russian invaders. Parliament was expected to confirm former lawmaker Rustem Umerov as his successor.
The US government has so far provided more than $43 billion in weaponry and other military aid to Ukraine.
