Beijing, 25 Apr (Xinhua) -- Senior Ukrainian government officials confirmed on 24 April that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin visited Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, on the same day and met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
This is the first time in two months since Russia launched a special military operation that the U.S. government has officially sent a senior official to Visit Ukraine. Zelenskiy said the day before that the Us side cannot "come empty-handed" and that the Ukrainian side expects more heavy weapons.
The Ukrainian side is looking forward to heavy force
Ukrainian presidential adviser Alexei Alestovich confirmed in an interview with the video sharing website Youtu on the evening of the 24th that Blinken and Austin have arrived in Kiev and are meeting with Zelenskiy.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, left, meets with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken in Kiev on Jan. 19. Xinhua News Agency (Courtesy of the Office of the President of Ukraine)
"Yes, they are meeting with the president. Let us look forward to a decision on further assistance. Alestovich said Ukraine was in desperate need of offensive weapons and that "maybe they [the U.S.] can help."
Igor Zoffkova, deputy director of the Office of the President of Ukraine, told NBC News on the 24th that the Ukrainian side intends to show Blinken and Austin that Ukraine needs more weapons, including anti-missile systems, air defense systems, armored vehicles, tanks, etc.
Zelenskiy announced at a press conference held in a subway station in the center of Kiev on the 23rd that Blinken and Austin were about to visit, hoping that the meeting would achieve "substantive results", including discussing the provision of heavy weapons and security by the United States.
Vehicles pass by independence square in Kiev, Ukraine, on February 24. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Dongxu
Zelenskiy said senior U.S. officials "can't come empty-handed" and that "we are expecting not just gifts and cakes, but also specific things and specific weapons."
For the above statement of the Ukrainian side, the US White House did not confirm it, and the State Department and the Ministry of Defense declined to comment.
The West continues to arch fire
According to Agence France-Presse, european leaders recently visited Kiev, but the United States, as the country that took the lead in providing funds and weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia, has not officially sent senior officials to Ukraine for a long time.
According to the Associated Press, Blinken briefly entered Ukraine during a visit to Poland last month to meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kureba, and Zelenskiy's most recent face-to-face meeting with senior U.S. officials was before the outbreak of the war, that is, on February 19 in Munich, Germany, with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
Zelenski said earlier this month that he hoped U.S. President Joseph Biden would visit Ukraine. A White House spokesman later said Biden had no plans to visit Kiev. Agence France-Presse (AFP) analyzed at the time that Biden's trip to Kiev could put great pressure on security, so he might send high-level officials such as the secretary of state and the secretary of defense to "go for him."
Since the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, many parties have carried out diplomatic mediation. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is scheduled to visit Turkey on the 25th to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and then will travel to Russia and Ukraine on the 26th and 28th respectively to interview the presidents of the two countries on the realization of peace and equality.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres speaks to reporters in front of the iconic sculpture "The Knotted Pistol" at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 19. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Yi took a photo
Compared with diplomatic mediation efforts, the United States and other Western countries continue to "arch fire".
The United States has sent a large number of weapons to Ukraine. Biden said on the 21st that the United States will provide Ukraine with $800 million in additional security assistance and $500 million in direct economic assistance. According to Austin, U.S. military aid is entering Ukraine "faster than most people think," and it will take only "four or five days" from authorization to arrival in Ukraine. Blinken also said that the number of anti-tank weapons provided by the United States has been ten times that of Russian tanks in Ukraine.
In addition to providing weapons, the United States also provides real-time military intelligence to Ukraine. The White House acknowledged last month that the United States provided Ukraine with "a large amount of concrete and timely" intelligence involving Russian plans and movements. Austin also acknowledged in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month that the United States was providing intelligence on Ukraine's actions in Donbass.
According to the Associated Press, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Zelenskiy on the 23rd, promising to provide more weapons such as drones, combat vehicles and anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian side. (Gao Jie)