This morning, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit against the backdrop of a new Russian offensive on Kharkiv. During the meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, they discussed, among other things, Kharkivʼs need for air defense systems and new military aid to Ukraine.
Addressing Blinken, Zelensky first of all stated the shortage and great need for air defense systems.
"We really need two Patriot systems today — for Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, because people are under fire there. Civilians, soldiers, they are all under Russian attacks," Zelensky said.
At the same time, Blinken says that the US "knows that Ukraine is going through difficult times", but, according to him, new military aid to Kyiv "is already on the way, part of it has already arrived".
"And this will have a significant impact on deterring Russian aggression on the battlefield," Blinken added.
During the meeting, Zelensky also thanked the United States for its "bipartisan" support. In addition, he told Blinken that he would like to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine and the Global Peace Summit to be held in Switzerland on June 15-16. Zelensky asked Blinken to help attract as many countries as possible to the summit.