US defense chief visits kyiv to talk about support in the fight against Russia

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in kyiv on Monday on an unannounced visit, hours after a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressured his allies to continue providing military aid for the war.

Austin said on social network X that his fourth visit to the country shows “that the United States, along with the international community, continues to support Ukraine.”

Ukraine is struggling to contain a fierce Russian campaign on the eastern front that has forced kyiv’s forces to gradually withdraw from several cities and towns.

Zelenskyy urged his Western allies to back his so-called “victory plan” to end the nearly three-year war, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II that has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides. , including many civilians.

His strategy includes Ukraine receiving a formal invitation to join NATO and permission to use long-range Western missiles to hit military targets in Russia, two moves that have drawn qualms from kyiv’s allies in the past.

The Western response has been lukewarm, and Austin was expected to discuss the plan with Ukrainian officials in kyiv.

In a video message Sunday night, Zelenskyy said his plan had the support of France, Lithuania, Nordic countries and “many other allies” in the European Union, which he did not identify.

The crucial country, however, is the United States, which is Ukraine’s largest military supplier.

Zelenskyy said he had received “very positive signals from the United States” but stopped short of saying he had won Washington’s support for his plan.

Russia launched three missiles and 116 Shahed drones toward Ukraine overnight from Sunday to Monday, according to the Ukrainian air force.

Machine gun fire and the noise of drone engines could be heard in the center of kyiv throughout the night. Authorities reported minor damage to civil infrastructure caused by falling drone debris in three districts of the city.

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