Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv and was expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding for Ukraine in the 18-month-old war.
Twenty shops, power lines, administrative building and the floor of an apartment building were damaged, according to the prosecutor general’s office. “We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,” Blinken said. “We’re also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy.”
The package will also include a $5.4 million transfer to Ukraine of frozen Russian oligarch assets, according to the official, who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that U.S. assistance to Ukraine “can’t influence the course of the special military operation” — Moscow’s euphemism for the war.
Those alternatives may include new overland routes, or ships hugging coastlines to keep out of international waters where they could be targeted by Russia’s navy. Shmyhal said Ukraine is grateful the money is coming in the form of grants, not loans that would drive it into debt.