A Russian attack on a city in eastern Ukraine that killed at least 17 people cast a shadow over the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, which hit a crowded market, shops and a pharmacy in the town of Kostyanjivka, near the battlefield. He said a child was among the victims, and officials said at least 32 people were injured.
"Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible," said Zelensky.
"When someone in the world still tries to deal with anything Russian, it means closing their eyes to this reality. The insolence of evil. Utter inhumanity.” He later said at a press conference that Kiev believes it was a deliberate attack on "a peaceful city".
"This is another terrorist attack by the Russian Federation. They hit the market on purpose,” he said.
Kostiantivka, which had about 70.000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion, is about 30 km from the destroyed city of Bakhmut, and about 560 km from Kiev, where Blinken met with Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian leaders.
"Russian troops are terrorists who will not be forgiven and will not rest," said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmykhal. "Just retribution will come for all".
Blinken is expected to announce a new package of US military aid worth more than $XNUMX billion during the two-day visit, a senior State Department official said.
We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in a counteroffensive, but that it has what it needs in the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, Blinken said.
Blinken, the first high-ranking US official to visit Kiev since the counteroffensive began in June, spoke with Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleb and later with Zelensky.
In comments at the start of the meeting with Zelenskiy, Blinken said he was encouraged by the "significant progress" made so far in the counteroffensive.
"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive, but that it has what it needs in the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, said Blinken in the presence in Kulebe.
U.S. media reports quoted unidentified U.S. officials as saying that Ukraine's counteroffensive was slow due to poor tactics. Those criticisms angered Ukrainian officials and prompted Kuleba to tell critics to "shut up."
In the offensive, Ukraine recaptured a dozen villages and small settlements, but the penetration into the territory under Russian control is slowed by minefields and trenches. US officials have not publicly criticized Ukraine's military strategy, and last Sunday said they saw progress in the southeast, Reuters writes.
A State Department official said Washington wants to discuss how the offensive is progressing and assess battlefield needs as well as steps that may be needed to strengthen Ukraine's energy security before winter.
Asked about Blinken's visit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow believes Washington plans to continue funding the Ukrainian military "to fight this war to the last Ukrainian." He assessed that American aid to Kiev will not affect the course of the Russian "special military operation".
Blinken's visit coincided with the Ukrainian parliament's decision to approve the appointment of Rustem Umerov as defense minister following the dismissal of Oleksiy Reznikov.
During the train journey to Kyiv, Blinken also spoke with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who was visiting on the same day. Blinken thanked her for the donation of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine and for leading a coalition of countries that train Ukrainian pilots, the State Department spokesman said.
Denmark and the Netherlands announced last month that they would provide more than 60 US-made F-16s as soon as pilots are trained to fly them. They are the first countries to offer airplanes.
The US government has now provided more than $43 billion in arms and other military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. The new aid package should be announced this Sunday, Reuters reported yesterday.
Several candidates for the Republican presidential nomination have questioned US aid, raising concerns about whether Washington will continue to support Ukraine at the same level as the campaign for the 2024 US election intensifies.
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