Blinken on Ukraine visit: “Very productive, in many ways meaningful”

“We had, I think, a very productive and in many ways meaningful day here in Ukraine,” the Secretary of State told journalists, adding that this is his fifth trip to Ukraine in his current capacity, the third since the Russian aggression started.

According to Blinken, U.S. President Joe Biden “thought it would be particularly meaningful to come at this time as Ukraine is starting its counteroffensive in the south, also in the east.”

The top diplomat noted “real effectiveness” of Ukraine’s Army on the ground, adding that “we’re proud of the fact that our support, the support of so many other countries, is helping to enable what the Ukrainians are doing and working to liberate territory seized by Russia in this aggression.”

He also told the press that he discussed further support for Ukraine with the country’s top officials and held a number of other meetings.

At the end of the day, what matters most and the thing that fundamentally makes a difference is that this is Ukraine’s homeland, not Russia.  And that will I think be dispositive of everything.

“It was very meaningful for me to be able to be back at the embassy.  We, as you know, had to shutter the embassy briefly when the aggression began.  I was determined that we would raise the American flag again; we were able to do that some months ago,” Blinken said.

In this regard, he praised the work of U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, referring to her as one of the “strongest” diplomats.

Also, Blinken spoke of his visits to children’s hospitals, where he met with some of the youngest victims of Russia’s aggression – “a very stark reminder of what this is all about.”

The State Secretary also visited Irpin, where he was able “to bear witness to horrific attacks on houses, on buildings, clearly belonging to civilians.”

Blinken concluded that throughout the visit, “we were to reaffirm our strong support for Ukraine, our determination that Ukraine will emerge sovereign, independent, democratic, and even stronger than before.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit on September 8.