Ukraine official: Zelenskyy meets top-level US delegation
Source: AP
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The U.S. secretaries of state and defense met Sunday night with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the highest-level visit to the war-torn country’s capital by an American delegation since the start of Russia’s invasion. The meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was confirmed by presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych in an interview on Ukrainian TV.
It came as Ukraine pressed the West for more powerful weapons against Russia’s campaign in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces sought to dislodge the last Ukrainian troops in the battered port of Mariupol. “Yes, they’re meeting with the president. Let’s hope something will be decided on further help,” Arestovych said in an interview on Ukrainian TV. Before the session, Zelenskyy said he was looking for the Americans to produce results, both in arms and security guarantees.
“You can’t come to us empty-handed today, and we are expecting not just presents or some kind of cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons,″ he said. The visit would be the first by senior U.S. officials since Russia invaded 60 days ago. Blinken stepped briefly onto Ukrainian soil in March to meet with the country’s foreign minister during a visit to Poland.
Zelenskyy’s last face-to-face meeting with a top U.S. official was Feb. 19 in Munich with Vice President Kamala Harris. While the West has funneled military equipment to Ukraine, Zelenskyy has stressed repeatedly it needs more heavy weapons, including long-range air defense systems, as well as warplanes.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-kyiv-business-lloyd-austin-b070518fe13dc3286620d4864dc4cd0c
Saw similar on USA Today's site -
John Bacon Katie Wadington Chelsey Cox Jeanine Santucci Celina Tebor
USA TODAY
Updated 5:23 p.m. ET April 24, 2022
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Chief Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv Sunday night, according to Ukraine's presidential adviser. The adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview on Ukrainian TV late Sunday that the talks are going on “right now.” Blinken and Austin's meeting with Zelenskyy is the highest-ranking visit to Ukraine by a U.S. delegation since Russia began its invasion.
Zelenskyy said Saturday said he had plans to meet with Blinken and Austin, but did not share any details. Blinken and Austin met last month with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov in Warsaw, Poland, on the margins of President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe. The two also toured Ukraine’s border with Poland.
During that visit, the two Biden cabinet secretaries discussed follow-ups to the March 24 NATO Summit in Brussels, and the United States’ “unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of the Russian Federation’s increasingly brutal assault on Ukrainian cities and civilian population,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/24/ukraine-russia-invasion-live-updates/7424003001/
WaPo just did one of their "Live Updates" thing on this plus updated their earlier article with AP's version -
By Meryl Kornfield, Bryan Pietsch, Adam Taylor, Annabelle Timsit, Julian Duplain, Paulina Firozi and Hannah Knowles
Today at 12:56 a.m. EDT | Updated today at 6:07 p.m. EDT
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday afternoon, the highest-level visit by an American delegation since the start of the war. Earlier Sunday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called the visit “a very important political symbol” reflecting unity in support of Ukraine.
A Ukrainian official confirmed that the meeting had occurred, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the meeting publicly.
With fighting intensifying as the war hits the two-month mark, Ukrainian officials are pushing for more help. “They should not come here with empty hands,” Zelensky said Saturday during a news conference in an underground subway station in Kyiv in which he announced the trip by Blinken and Austin. “We are expecting specific things and specific weapons.” Zelensky also criticized U.N. Secretary General António Guterres for planning to visit Russia on Tuesday before traveling to Ukraine.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/24/russia-ukraine-war-news-blinken-austin-live-updates/
By David Keyton | AP
Today at 5:55 p.m. EDT
KYIV, Ukraine — The U.S. secretaries of state and defense met Sunday night with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the highest-level visit to the war-torn country’s capital by an American delegation since the start of Russia’s invasion. The meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was confirmed by presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych in an interview on Ukrainian TV.
It came as Ukraine pressed the West for more powerful weapons against Russia’s campaign in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces sought to dislodge the last Ukrainian troops in the battered port of Mariupol. “Yes, they’re meeting with the president. Let’s hope something will be decided on further help,” Arestovych said in an interview on Ukrainian TV.
Before the session, Zelenskyy said he was looking for the Americans to produce results, both in arms and security guarantees. “You can’t come to us empty-handed today, and we are expecting not just presents or some kind of cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons,’’ he said.
Zelenskyy’s last face-to-face meeting with a top U.S. official was Feb. 19 in Munich with Vice President Kamala Harris, five days before Russia’s invasion. While the West has funneled military equipment to Ukraine, Zelenskyy has stressed repeatedly that his country needs more heavy weapons, including long-range air defense systems and warplanes.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/steel-plant-under-siege-zelenskyy-prepares-for-us-officials/2022/04/24/687a8f2e-c385-11ec-b5df-1fba61a66c75_story.html
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