US top diplomat thanks Poland for supporting Ukraine
Wesprzyj naszą pracę na Go Fund Me. Dziękujemy!The United States Secretary of State has thanked Poland for “generous ongoing assistance” for Ukraine’s war effort against the Russian invasion.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (centre).PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko
Antony Blinken expressed his thanks in a phone call with Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Wednesday night, according to news outlets.
America’s top diplomat wrote on social media: “Spoke with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau about the US-Poland strategic partnership.”
Blinken stated: “Thank you Poland for your generous ongoing assistance to Ukraine and decades of friendship with the United States.”
The US secretary of state on Wednesday visited Kyiv in a show of support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
During his visit, Blinken announced new aid for Ukraine totaling more than USD 1 billion, including over USD 665 million in new military and civilian security assistance and millions of dollars in support for Ukraine’s air defenses and other areas, the Reuters news agency reported.
At a press conference with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken stated: “We will continue to stand by Ukraine’s side.”
He added that since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale aggression against Ukraine, America had provided Kyiv with over USD 43 billion in military assistance, the PAP news agency reported.
Russia strikes Ukraine’s Izmail with UAVs
Meanwhile, Russia launched another drone attack on Ukraine’s southwestern Danube port of Izmail early on Thursday, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.
Oleh Kiper, governor of the southwestern Odesa region, said the attack had lasted three hours and damaged Izmail’s civilian and port infrastructure.
A grain silo and an administrative building were struck and a truck driver sustained a minor leg injury, The Guardian reported.
It was the fourth attack on Izmail in the last five days, the governor said.
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea and Danube ports since July, when Moscow quit the United Nations-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative that had enabled Ukraine to export its grain via its Black Sea ports, The Guardian noted.
Ukraine ‘gaining ground’ in counteroffensive against Russia: NATO chief
Ukraine is “gradually gaining ground” in its counteroffensive against Russia, NATO’s secretary general said on Thursday.
In remarks at the European Parliament, Jens Stoltenberg stated that Ukrainian forces “are gradually gaining ground.”
He added: “They have been able to breach the defensive lines of the Russian forces and they are moving forward,” the DW website reported.
The NATO chief also told EU lawmakers that Ukraine’s progress proved „the importance of our support and also our ability and willingness to continue the support.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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