U.S. Secretary of State visits Kyiv as missile kills 17 in eastern Ukraine

Antony Blinken on Wednesday met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the beginning of a surprise two-day visit. Blinken’s visit comes three months into Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces. According to Ukraine's SBU security service, Ukrainian troops have made some progress and have reclaimed several small towns. The same day, a Russian missile strike killed 17 civilians, including one child, at a town market in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Is the United States going to increase support for Ukraine? President Joe Biden in August asked Congress to approve more than $24 billion for more military, financial, and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Some House Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for continuing to support the war, and a CNN poll showed that 55 percent of Americans do not think Congress should authorize more funding. 

Dig deeper: Read J. Daryl Charles’ column in WORLD Opinions about the moral reasoning behind U.S. support for Ukraine.