Visit shrouded in secrecy
militarily weakened Russia: On April 25, US Secretary of state Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited the war-torn country of Ukraine in a secretive meeting with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The trip was not confirmed by the press until the duo was safely out of the country’s borders. Through this daring conduct of sending two of their top Diplomats into Ukraine, Unites States wants to show steadfast support for Ukraine as Russia’s ground assault rages on in the East and South of the country.
The visit of US diplomats in such a risky manner has shined a new beacon of hope for Kyiv. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that Russia’s failure to achieve its war goals in the face of Ukrainian defense shows that with the West’s continued support, Ukraine has militarily weakened Russia.
As Russia continues to face severe economic duress in the face of Western Sanctions and boycotts, The extending solidarity that Ukraine is receiving from western democratic nations is becoming fruitful in the course of the war.
Arrival in the country
The duo arrived in the neighboring country of Poland on separate flights from the US. Austin and Antony traveled with small contingents of foreign Journalists under the strict U.S imposed ground rules for the visit.
The most important among the rules was that they will not report the visit until the U.S diplomats had left the country’s limits.
Upon arriving in Poland the duo then took a train from south-western Poland to Kyiv for a three-hour visit with president Zelenskyy and other important officials.
Prior to the visit, President Zelenskyy had given a statement on state media declaring about the possible visit by U.S diplomats, this unprecedented report by Zelenskyy had sent Washington into a scramble as they tried to determine whether the visit was still safe or not, said US officials.
Bearer’s of hope
Through the act of sending top Diplomats into Ukraine amidst the war, the US wants to assure Ukraine that in the face of surmountable Russian ground assault, US will have their back.
President Zelenskyy had said previously that the diplomats should not visit empty-handed, and US diplomats did not let him down.
Apart from unwavering solidarity with Ukraine, the US also approved the sending of heavy weapons like Howitzer’s and armored cars to tow them.
A militarily weakened Russia Is important for determining the course of the war in Ukraine, said U.S Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a press meeting on Monday in Poland- the Ukraine border.
Blinken has also informed Zelenskyy that the Biden administration is about to nominate a US ambassador to serve in Ukraine. The rumored candidate for the post is Bridget Brink, currently the U.S ambassador to Slovakia. Brink has prior experience working in European nations hence her expertise may come in handy in dealing with the situation in Ukraine.
The U.S seems to have a newfound confidence in Kyiv as the city has withstood the primary assault by Russian forces in March. Russia’s renewed military offensive in the south and east has left Kyiv open for the access of foreign diplomats in the country.
In addition to the return of U.S ambassadors in Ukraine, Lloyd Austin also informed the president about the arrival of heavy Howitzer’s into the country and the training of Ukrainian soldiers in American equipment being carried out in a third country, whose name could not be confirmed upon requests from the third nation.
Biden administration has also announced the sanction of 713$ million dollars worth of aid to Ukraine. U.S
has supplied arms and ammunition worth 3.7$ bn dollars to Ukraine, since the start of the Invasion in February.
Conclusion
With Russian forces regrouping in the South and East of Ukraine, Foreign officials have started to scramble to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country.
Western military alliance NATO has repeatedly said that they do not want to directly engage in the war in Ukraine but by the comments of top U.S diplomats and also the supplying of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, it is clear that knowingly or unknowingly U.S is getting involved in a proxy war in Ukraine.
The U.S continued involvement in the Ukraine war is a key point in the heavy casualties faced by invading Russian forces. Without the arms and ammunition from the U.S, Ukraine would have had a really tough time handling the invaders.
U.S will continue to supply Ukraine and exhaust Russia with harsher economic sanctions and trade bans, as a militarily weakened Russia is important for maintaining U.S interests around the globe.
Published By: Simran Mulani
Edit By: Khushi Thakur
