US’ top diplomat and Defense Chief will pay their first visit to Kyiv since Russia’s incursion two months ago, according to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskky.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will discuss the types of weapons Ukraine requires during their Sunday visit, according to Zelenskyy.
Blinken and Austin’s alleged trip comes after a string of European politicians’ visits to Kyiv, and it comes as Russian forces show no signs of relenting in their attacks. This included missile attacks on Odesa, Ukraine’s southernmost city, which killed eight people, including an infant.
The number of people killed in Saturday’s incident could not be independently verified. The final major attack on or near Odesa occurred in early April.
According to Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Zelenskyy, Russian forces have also renewed their attack on the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in a massive steelworks in the destroyed coastal city of Mariupol.
“Our defenders cling on despite the extremely difficult situation and even conduct counterraids,” he said.
Ukraine claims that hundreds of its servicemen and approximately 1,000 civilians are trapped inside Mariupol’s Azovstal steel complex. Kyiv has repeatedly appealed for a truce to allow residents — many of whom are barely living due to a lack of food and water – to flee safely.
