08:17 25/04/2022
Washington has confirmed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Kiev for talks yesterday (Sunday).
◾This is the highest-level visit to Ukraine by US officials since the beginning of the invasion, and was only made public when the pair left.
◾Senior US officials met with Ukrainian President Zelensky and pledged more than $700 million in military aid.
◾Russian shelling continues in the east, resulting in civilian deaths in both Kharkiv and Donetsk.
◾Ukraine says efforts to help civilians leave the devastated port city of Mariupol have failed again.
US confirms Blinken and Austin met Zelensky
The United States has confirmed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Kiev to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday.
A Ukrainian official said earlier that Blinken was in Ukraine, but the US declined to comment.
But after the pair left Ukrainian territory, Washington confirmed the visit.
The US promises $ 700 million in additional military assistance
After a meeting of top US officials in Kiev, the US reiterated its support for Ukraine and pledged more than $700 million in military funding to help their war effort.
In addition, the US confirmed that it will sell $165 million worth of ammunition to Kiev.
The announcement was made after a trip that was kept secret due to security concerns.
This was the highest-level visit of American diplomats to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian occupation.
In addition to President Zelensky, Blinken and Austin also met with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, CNN reports citing a senior State Department official.
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