KYIV, Ukraine. — The U.S. is promising to send more military aid to Ukraine and gradually return American diplomats to the country as the Russian invasion grinds on.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin joined Secretary of State Antony Blinken on an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Sunday. The two met with top Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.
They announced that the Biden administration will provide more than $300 million in military financing and has approved a $165 million ammunition sale.
Austin and Blinken are the highest-ranking U.S. officials to visit Ukraine since Russian troops invaded two months ago.
A new program starts today for people escaping the war in Ukraine. Refugees can begin applying online to get their visa in Europe and fly directly into the U.S. What they can’t do, is cross into the country through Mexico anymore.
Homeland Security says that option is over and Ukrainians who arrive at the border without a valid visa will be turned away. That means they’ll have to seek asylum in Mexico or Europe.
Mariupol
Ukraine’s prime minister is accusing invading Russian forces of committing “terrible war crimes” in Mariupol. Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said “small children and babies” had died of dehydration in the battered port city since the Russians invaded two months ago.
Ukrainian officials estimate that more than 20-thousand people have died in Mariupol and over 100-thousand remain stranded without food, water, or electricity. Shmyhal called the city a “symbol of brave Ukrainian soldiers and civilians” who will “stay until the end.”
The grim update comes as Ukrainian President Zelensky said he would be meeting with the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense.
