NEAR THE POLISH-UKRAINIAN BORDER (AP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin secretly said Monday after a visit to Kyiv that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy is determined to support his country’s fight against Russia and the United States Winning states will help him achieve that goal.
“He has the attitude that they want to win and we have the attitude that we want to help them win,” Austin told reporters in Poland the day after the three-hour face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
Austin said the nature of the fighting in Ukraine changed after Russia retreated from the forested northern regions to focus on the eastern industrial heartland of Donbass. As the nature of combat has evolved, so too have Ukraine’s military needs, and Zelenskyy is now focusing on more tanks, artillery and other ammunition.
“The first step to winning is believing you can win,” Austin said. “We believe that if they have the right equipment and the right support, they can win and we will do everything we can … to make sure that this gets on their nerves.”
Blinken and Austin’s trip marked the highest-level American visit to the capital since Russia invaded in late February.
They said Zelenskyy and his advisers that the US would provide more than $300 million in foreign military financing and had approved a $165 million ammunition sale.
“We had the opportunity to directly demonstrate our strong continued support for the Ukrainian government and people,” Blinken said. “We felt this was an important moment to be there and have in-depth face-to-face discussions.”
Blinken said their meeting with the Ukrainians lasted three hours to engage in wide-ranging talks, including what help the country needs in the coming weeks.
“The strategy we have put in place, massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure on Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries participating in this effort is showing real results,” Blinken said.
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“When it comes to Russia’s war aims, Russia fails. Ukraine is successful. Russia’s main goal has been to completely subjugate Ukraine, to deprive it of its sovereignty and independence. That failed.”
When asked what the US sees as a success, Austin said, “We want Ukraine to remain a sovereign country, a democratic country capable of protecting its sovereign territory, we want Russia to be up to that.” weakened to the point where it can no longer invade Ukraine with such things.”
They also said Biden would soon announce his nominee for ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, and that American diplomats who left Ukraine before the war would return to the country in the coming week. The US Embassy in Kyiv will remain closed for the time being.
Brink, a foreign service official, has been ambassador to Slovakia since 2019. She has previously served in Serbia, Cyprus, Georgia and Uzbekistan and on the White House National Security Council. The post is subject to confirmation by the US Senate.
Journalists who traveled to Poland with Austin and Blinken were not allowed to cover the trip until it ended, were not allowed to accompany them on their overland trip to Ukraine, and were not allowed to indicate where in south-east Poland they met again with cabinet members after her return. State Department and Pentagon officials cited security concerns.
Austin and Blinken announced a combined US$713 million in foreign military funding for Ukraine and 15 allied and partner countries; about 322 million dollars are earmarked for Kyiv. The remainder will be divided among NATO members and other nations that have supplied Ukraine with critical military supplies since the war with Russia began, officials said.
Such funding differs from previous US military aid to Ukraine. It is not a donation from the US Department of Defense depleted stocks, but rather cash that countries can use to purchase supplies they may need.
The new money, along with the sale of $165 million in non-US-made ammunition compatible with Soviet-era weapons used by Ukrainians, increases the total amount of American military aid to Ukraine since the invasion to $3.7 billion, officials said.
Biden has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of genocide for the destruction and death of Ukraine. Just Thursday, Biden said he would provide Ukraine with a new $800 million military aid package that includes heavy artillery and drones.
Congress last month approved $6.5 billion in military aid as part of $13.6 billion in spending for Ukraine and its allies in response to the Russian invasion.
From Poland, Blinken plans to return to Washington, while Austin will travel to Ramstein, Germany, for a meeting of NATO defense ministers and other donor countries on Tuesday.
This discussion will look at battlefield updates from the ground, additional security assistance for Ukraine and longer-term defense needs in Europe, including how to increase military production to fill the gaps caused by the war in Ukraine, officials said. More than 20 nations are expected to send representatives to the meeting.
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Associated Press writer David Rising contributed to this report from Bangkok.