US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Kyiv. Blinken arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday. Shortly before, the US State Department had announced further loans and guarantees totaling two billion dollars (around two billion euros) for Ukraine and its neighboring countries. It is the US Secretary of State’s second visit to Kyiv since Russia’s war of aggression began on February 24.
The aid from the military financial program comes in addition to a new $675 million military aid to Ukraine announced by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, the State Department said in Washington.
The purpose of the grants is to increase the security of Ukraine and 18 neighboring countries, including many NATO allies and other regional partners who face the greatest risk of future aggression by Russia, a ministry official said.
In the past fiscal year, which ended in June, the United States had already provided Ukraine and its neighboring countries with loans and guarantees amounting to around four billion dollars.