Antony Blinken

As Ukraine is struggling with a fresh Russian attack, Blinken in Kiev believes US weapons will make a difference.

KYIV, Ukraine [AP]— 

As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid an unexpected visit to Kyiv on Tuesday to reassure an ally facing a severe new Russian attack, he stated that American military help headed to Ukraine will make a “real difference” on the battlefield.

Moscow’s forces have seized between 100 and 125 square kilometers (40 to 50 square miles) in the Kharkiv region, which includes at least seven settlements, in increasingly fierce attacks along the northeastern border in recent days, according to open-source monitoring analysts. Thousands of local residents have left the area due to the violence, even though the majority of those settlements were already abandoned.

Additionally, a coordinated offensive by the Kremlin’s forces has been made in the east with the goal of advancing farther into the partially held Donetsk province. According to a report by the Ukrainian General Staff, the main target of Russian operations on Tuesday was Pokrovsk, which is located close inside the Ukrainian border in Donetsk. There, the forces of the Kremlin launched 24 assaults.

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According to analysts, this is one of the riskiest times for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested additional air defense systems on Tuesday in order to shield residents in the northeast from Russian bombardment.

“We acknowledge that this is a difficult moment,” Blinken remarked during his meeting with Zelenskyy in the capital of Ukraine. He clarified, however, that the military support from the United States “will make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield.”

Less than a month has passed since Congress approved a long-awaited foreign aid package worth $60 billion for Ukraine, the majority of which will be used to resupply the country’s severely depleted air defense and artillery systems.

According to Blinken, some of that “is now on the way,” and part of it has already reached Ukraine.

The most dramatic border incursion since the beginning of the war is Moscow’s resurgent onslaught in the northeastern Kharkiv region. This comes after months in which the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line hardly moved.

Authorities report that about 7,500 individuals had been evacuated from the region. Meanwhile, according to Ukrainian officials, the Kremlin’s forces are pushing further into the northern border regions of Sumy and Chernihiv, and Kyiv’s outnumbered and outgunned military are finding it difficult to stop them.

Soldiers engaged in street-to-street combat outside Vovchansk, one of the biggest towns in the Kharkiv region, according to the regional governor. Oleh Syniehubov said on television across the country. He reported that on Tuesday, Russian shelling claimed the lives of two people.

The struggles are having a significant cost, according to the U.N. human rights office.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights’ office spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, expressed her alarm over the state of civilians in Ukraine in Geneva.”The situation is dire in the Kharkiv region.”

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However, he went on to say that more is required, mentioning the urgent necessity for two Patriot air defense systems to safeguard Kharkiv.

“Everyone is being attacked, including soldiers and civilians. Russian missiles are firing at them,” he said.

Prior to Blinken’s meetings, a senior U.S. official who was traveling with the secretary on an overnight train from Poland told reporters that artillery, air defense interceptors, and long-range ballistic missiles had already been delivered, some of them to the front lines.

U.S. officials revealed prior to the trip that the administration had already announced $1.4 billion in short-term military assistance and $6 billion in longer-term support since President Joe Biden signed the aid package late last month.

Blinken informed Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal that the United States plans to continue supporting Kyiv after the war ends during his fourth visit to the city since Russian forces crossed the border.

“The United States is resolute in its efforts to assist Ukraine in achieving success—both on the battlefield and, as we would say, in securing peace and forging the strongest possible Ukraine,” Blinken declared.

According to national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the administration is “trying to really accelerate the tempo” of American weapon shipments.

However, Kyiv and Europe are deeply concerned about the delays in U.S. help, especially since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which has taken top administration officials’ attention. For example, Blinken has made seven trips to the Middle East since the start of the Gaza War in October. He visited Kiev for the final time in September.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky greets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prior to their meeting in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Pool via REUTERS

Pronouncing it “superb,” Blinken had lunch with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a pizza joint in Kyiv that was started by veterans. The two of them dined at a McDonald’s that had just reopened on Blinken’s previous visit.

Later on Tuesday, the secretary of state was scheduled to deliver a speech praising Ukraine’s “strategic successes” in the conflict. It is meant to be a counterpoint to a Blinken speech given in Helsinki, Finland, the previous year, in which Putin was criticized for Moscow’s strategic mistakes in starting the conflict.

However, Russia has escalated its attacks since the Helsinki address. This was particularly evident when the U.S. House of Representatives sat on the aid package for months without taking any action, which led to the suspension of the majority of U.S. support. Due to Russia’s attempt to capitalize on Ukraine’s shortage of both men and weapons while the new help is being sent, the frequency of these attacks has grown in recent weeks.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be visiting China for two days as part of a state visit. Without really exporting weapons, Beijing has supported Moscow politically in the conflict by sending electronics, machine tools, and other supplies that are thought to aid Russia in its war effort.

“In Kyiv, Blinken told Zelenskyy that a strong, prosperous, free Ukraine is the best possible rebuke to Putin and the best possible guarantor for your future.”

The senior U.S. official stated that Ukraine could still claim major triumphs in spite of some recent losses. These include raising its economic profile, strengthening commercial and transportation ties, and recovering around half of the land that Russian forces captured in the early months of the conflict—not to mention its military victories in the Black Sea.

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