Rebecca Falconer
The U.S. will soon restart diplomatic operations in Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, American officials told several outlets late Sunday.
Driving the news: After Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv Sunday, American officials told reporters the State Department would this week send diplomats to Lviv, per the Washington Post.
- U.S. diplomats will “start with day trips” to the western Ukrainian city and “graduate to potentially other parts of the country,” a State Department official said, CNN reports.
- “This will underscore our commitment and it will make clear that we’ll seek to have our diplomats return to our embassy in Kyiv as soon as possible,” a State Department official told the reporters, per WashPost.
Meanwhile, Blinken and Austin promised Zelensky over $300 million in foreign military financing from the U.S. and said that a $165 million sale of ammunition had been approved, AP notes.
Of note: The announcement came on the same day the only Ukrainian-born member of Congress called for the U.S. to resume diplomatic services in the country.
- Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” earlier Sunday that several countries were bringing diplomats “back to Kyiv, but the least we can do actually is bring it maybe to Lviv.”
The big picture: The U.S. moved American diplomatic personnel from Ukraine to Poland after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two breakaway “republics” in the country’s east on Feb. 22 — two days before his forces launched their invasion.
- The retreat of Putin’s forces from the Kyiv region earlier this month has alleviated the immediate threat to Ukraine’s capital and Western diplomats have since been returning to reopen embassies there, per Axios’ Zachary Basu.
Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Source: axios.com