Zelenskyy lauds US aid package, asks Blinken for air defenses

A new US weapons package is going to have an impact on the battlefield in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, visiting Kyiv at a time when Ukrainian forces have faced setbacks at the front after a long delay in US aid.

Washington finally passed a bill in late April to provide military aid to Ukraine, held up for months by opposition from some Republicans in the US Congress while Russian forces took advantage of their superior firepower to launch an offensive.

"...In the near term the assistance is now on the way, some of it has already arrived, and more of it will be arriving," said Blinken, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "And that's going to make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield."

Zelenskyy lauded the "crucial" US aid and thanked Washington for bipartisan support.

He said Ukraine's biggest deficit for now was in air defense, telling Blinken Kyiv needs two Patriot air defense batteries for the northeastern region of Kharkiv, being pummelled by Russian air strikes.

“Civilians, warriors, everybody -- they are under Russian missiles,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president said he also wanted to discuss security guarantees with the US, in addition to asking Blinken to rally support from more countries at an upcoming high-level peace summit set to take place in Switzerland in June.

"We're equally determined that over time, Ukraine stands strongly on its own feet: militarily, economically, democratically," said Blinken. "A strong, successful, thriving, free Ukraine is the best possible rebuke to Putin."

Reuters