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Zelenskyy meets top-level US delegation, gets aid promises

Lloyd Austin, Antony Blinken, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Posted at 5:32 AM, Apr 25, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-25 11:39:58-04

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the U.S. secretaries of state and defense in the highest-level visit to Kyiv by an American delegation since the start of the Russian invasion.

Zelenskyy’s meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was shrouded in secrecy and came as Ukraine pressed the West for more powerful weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Blinken and Austin promised Zelenskyy a more than $300 million package of foreign military financing and a $165 million sale of ammunition. They also said President Joe Biden would announce his pick for a U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

After the delegation left, Biden announced early Monday Bridget A. Brink would be nominated as ambassador. Her confirmation requires Senate approval.

She previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia. She was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2019 and was confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate.