Senior U.S. officials offer new aid during Kyiv visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States approved $165 million in ammunition sales and more than $300 million in foreign military financing during a Sunday trip to Kyiv, Ukraine. The meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the highest-level U.S. visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. The U.S. State Department said diplomats would start returning to Ukraine this week ahead of President Joe Biden’s expected announcement of a Ukrainian ambassador nominee.

What else is happening across Ukraine? The diplomatic visit fell on the Orthodox celebration of Easter and the two-month mark since the invasion began. Soldiers on the eastern front attended open-air services and greeted each other with, “Christ has risen!” Russia has continued its eastern offensive, striking about 423 targets overnight. Russian forces also launched fresh airstrikes on the steel plant in Mariupol, where about 1,000 civilians and 2,000 Ukrainian fighters have staged their last resistance in the city. Russia’s defense ministry said it would halt hostilities Monday afternoon to allow civilians to leave the plant.

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