U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken delivers remarks during an event honoring the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Heroes on June 15, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken has arrived in Kyiv on an official visit, Suspilne News reported on Sept. 6, citing sources in President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.
Blinken's visit came on the same day as Ukrainian forces repelled a Russian missile strike against Ukraine's capital.
Ukrainian outlet ZN.UA reported on Sept. 5 that Blinken is expected to arrive in Kyiv on Sept. 6, citing its diplomatic sources. The U.S. State Department has not yet officially confirmed the state secretary's visit.
This is Blinken's third trip to Kyiv since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. He has previously paid a visit to the capital in April 2022 and September 2022.
A Russian drone attack in northeastern Ukraine's Sumy Oblast killed two brothers and a married couple, while a missile attack damaged a production facility belonging to U.S. multinational company Mondelez, authorities reported Feb. 21.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as "ultimatums and blackmail" from Hungary and Slovakia after the two countries threatened to halt emergency electricity supplies.
The Votkinsk Plant is a strategic, state-owned defense enterprise and one of the most important missile factories in Russia. It produces Iskander ballistic missiles — used in attacks against Ukraine — and nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
"I won't go into too many details, but today I can congratulate our army first and foremost —all the defense forces — because as of today, 300 (square) kilometers have been liberated," Zelensky told Agence France-Presse.
The children were returned under the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which finds and returns Ukrainian children from occupied territories and Russia, alongside the Save Ukraine organization.
The main target was Odesa Oblast, where two people were injured after drones tore into houses and a four-storey apartment block, the emergency services reported on Feb. 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Feb. 20, framed by authorities as a measure to counter security threats and potential attacks, granting Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) broad authority to order the disconnection of individuals from mobile and home internet services.
"We are blocking the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline resumes," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Feb. 20.
The Moldovan Police and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies announced a day earlier that they had launched a criminal investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate several public figures in Ukraine. The probe is being carried out by a joint investigative team formed by the two countries.
Less than 1% of our readers support us financially.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 1,000 supports us financially. One membership might not seem like much, but to us, it makes a real difference.
If you value our reporting, consider becoming a member — your support makes us stronger.
