US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is in Ukraine as weapons from a new American aid package begin arriving at the front lines.
Secretary Blinken is at the moment in a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Presidential headquarters.
The two delegations entered the gilded meeting room, and beneath chandeliers, the two men sat at the table, giving brief remarks while the press were still in the room.
Zelensky said it had been a “tough period” for Ukrainian “warriors”, especially in the East of the country.
He thanked Blinken for the “crucial package” of military assistance passed last month by Congress, highlighting the “bipartisan support” it received.
He added that it was crucial to get the weapons delivered as quickly as possible.
He went on to speak about Ukraine’s outstanding needs, saying air defence was the “biggest deficit”, and that Kharkiv needed more air defences.
Blinken paid tribute to Ukraine’s “extraordinary resilience” and to Zelensky’s “strength and leadership”.
He acknowledged that it was a “challenging time” but that the US assistance was “on the way”, which he said would make a crucial difference on the battlefield.
Blinken said a strong, free, and thriving Ukraine was the strongest “rebuke to Putin”.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
