US Secretary of State arrives in Ukraine pledging support to ‘make a real difference’

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived by train in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Tuesday for an unannounced visit “to demonstrate our unwavering support for Ukraine as they defend their freedom against Russian aggression”, Blinken announced on X. 

In a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Blinken promised to provide Ukraine with additional support that would “make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield,” BBC News reported.

According to Blinken, Ukraine’s allies were confident that over time the country would be able to stand firmly on its feet and that a strong, successful, prosperous, and free Ukraine was the best defence against Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported.

During his meeting with Blinken, Zelensky stressed that his country — and its second city Kharkiv in particular — were in immediate need of two further Patriot air defence systems, according to BBC. Zelensky added that a lack of defence equipment was Ukraine’s “biggest deficit”.

Blinken is also due to meet Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his visit, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Blinken was expected to make a speech on Tuesday evening praising Ukraine’s successes in the war, the ongoing concerns over the West’s continued supply of weaponry to Kyiv and the Ukrainian military’s lack of troops notwithstanding.

The visit of the US Secretary of State to Kyiv is the fourth since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the first since a $61 billion (€56 billion) US aid package was approved by Congress and signed into law by US President Joe Biden last month.