Blinken praises Ukrainian counteroffensive
Ukrainian soldier near Zaporizhzhia, August 19, 2023 (Photo:REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi)
Ukraine has
made "good progress" during its ongoing southern counteroffensive, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said
at a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba during his visit to
Kyiv on Sept. 6, CNN reported.
"We've seen good progress in the counteroffensive, which is very heartening,” the U.S. official said.
"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in the counteroffensive, but it has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, a strong defense capacity, so that in the future, aggressions like this don't happen again."
Blinken said he admired the extraordinary bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people, armed forces, and leadership, reiterating that the United States is committed to working with its partners as they "build and rebuild a strong economy, a strong democracy."
Media reported that during the visit, the U.S. Secretary of State will present a new tranche of financial assistance to Ukraine worth more than $1 billion.
Washington is also expected to announce the decision to provide the Ukrainian military with depleted uranium tank shells on Sept. 6.
On Sept. 2, the commander of the Tavria operational and strategic grouping of troops, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had broken through the first line of Russian defense in the south.
Commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the main task is to prevent further territorial losses on the Kupyansk and Lyman axes in eastern Ukraine.
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