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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin would visit Kyiv on Sunday, in what would be a risky show of support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion.
“Tomorrow people from the US are coming, I will meet the defence minister and the secretary of state, Mr Blinken,” President Zelenskyy said in a news conference on Saturday. “I think we will be waiting when security will allow the president of the US to come and support Ukraine’s people.”
It wasn’t clear if his disclosure was cleared with the Biden administration or if it would affect any travel plans. The White House National Security Council declined to comment and the State Department did not immediately comment.
The US government typically does not announce trips to active combat zones by senior officials until they are already on the ground or departing the area.
Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine hopes to secure heavy weapons at the talks, supplies he said were vital for his country to retake Russian-occupied territory.
"As soon as we have [more weapons], as soon as there are enough of them, believe me, we will immediately retake this or that territory, which is temporarily occupied," he told reporters.
"Tomorrow we will discuss this exact list of weapons that are essential for us and the pace of deliveries," he said. "We expect this. We would like to have ... powerful heavy weapons."
The visit, if confirmed, would be the first by top US officials to Ukraine’s capital since Russia invaded the country on February 24.
In March, Secretary of State Blinken briefly met with Ukraine’s foreign minister at the Ukraine-Polish border.
