U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday (May 14) visited Kyiv's Maidan Square before having coffee with representatives of Ukrainian civil society, during a trip aimed to "send a strong signal of reassurance to the Ukrainians who are obviously in a very difficult moment," according to a U.S. official.<br /><br />His trip is the first by a senior U.S. official since Congress passed a long-delayed $61 billion aid package last month. Kyiv's outmanned troops are battling a new Russian offensive in the northeast as well as assaults in the east.<br /><br />Ukraine recaptured swathes of territory during the first year after Russia's invasion in 2022, but a Ukrainian counter-offensive faltered last year and in recent months Russia has retaken the initiative at the frontline.<br /><br />Military aid from Washington, Kyiv's main backer, was held up for months, blocked by Republicans in the U.S. Congress until they finally allowed a vote last month, when it passed with support from both parties.<br /><br />Blinken arrived in Kyiv by train early on Tuesday morning on the previously undisclosed visit, which comes days after Russia launched a ground incursion into the north of the region of Kharkiv, opening a new front and stretching Ukraine's soldiers.<br />...<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziS6Ge9jGMM" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziS6Ge9jGMM</a>