US Secretary of State Blinken assures Zelensky military aid 'now on its way'

US Secretary of State AntonyBlinken on Tuesday morning (May 14) made an unannounced visit to Ukraine to reassure the continuous support of the United States to Kyiv as well as the supply of weapons as Russia continues to attack the northeastern Kharkiv region.

During his visit to Kyiv,Blinken said that theUS military aid for Ukraine is "now on its way" and will "make a real difference". "In the near term, assistance is now on its way and that will make a real difference against the Russian aggression on the battlefield," said Blinken, while speaking to President Volodymyr Zelensky at the beginning their meeting.

He is on his fourth visit to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Blinken took an overnight train from Poland and was supposed to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Blinken is visiting Ukraine weeks after a financial aid packageworth $61 billion was approved by the US Congress for Ukraine after months of delay.The package unlocked much-needed arms for the stretched troops of the country.

Itis expectedthatthe aid willbe providedat an accelerated pace as Washington is trying to make up for the lost months, even though Congress is facing difficulty in reaching a complete agreement on assistance.

Also Read:Russia intensifies ground assault in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, achieves ‘tactical success’

"Firstthis trip is to send a strong signal of reassurance to the Ukrainians who are obviously ina very difficultmoment both with grinding battle on the Eastern Front but also with the Russians now expanding some cross-border attacks into Kharkiv," said a senior US official, while speaking to the reporters aboard the train.

US Secretary of Stateto monitor how aid will be "executed"

AntonyBlinkenis expectedto look into how US aid will "be executed in a fashion to help shore up their defences and enable themto increasingly take back the initiative on the battlefield."

The senior US official had last visited in March when National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reached Ukraine.

Russia is "clearly throwing everything they have in the eastandexpanding the fighting to Kharkiv is representative of that strategy," said the official.

"But we have a lot of confidence that the Ukrainians will increasingly be effective in pushing the Russians back as our assistance flows in both from the United States and other allies and partners," he added.

Watch:Russia-Ukraine war: Russian forces attack border of Ukraine's Northern Kharkiv region

Alongside holding discussions with Zelensky,Blinkenis likely to meet his counterpart Dmytro Kulebaalong with members of civil societyand deliver a speech on the topic "Ukraine's strategic success".

The secretary of state will also discuss a bilateral defence agreementwhichthe United States hopes to close beforethe NATO summit in Washington in July.

"The negotiations are in their final stages, we'revery close," the US official said.

(With inputs from agencies)