US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived on a surprise visit to Kiev on Monday to confirm US support for Ukraine, a week after a surprise visit by US President Joe Biden, and this comes in light of the tightening of the screws on Bakhmut by Russian forces and the recognition of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the situation around the city is getting more difficult. .
During her visit, the US Treasury Secretary met with the Ukrainian president and senior government officials, and said her visit to Kiev was an affirmation of Washington's unwavering commitment to Ukraine.
Yellen announced the transfer of the first batch of support allocated to Ukraine for the year 2023 at a value of $ 1.25 billion, which represents the first tranche of aid provided by Washington to support Ukraine's economy and budget with a total of $ 9.9 billion.
"The United States will support Ukraine as long as it is necessary," Yellen told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The United States has given Ukraine more than $13 billion in financing to support its economy and budget since the outbreak of the war, and this amount will rise to more than $14 billion after the latest aid, with an additional $8.65 billion expected to be sent until September 30.
During her visit to Kiev, US Secretary of State Janet Yellen met with the Ukrainian President and senior government officials (Reuters)
For his part, Zelensky said - on his Telegram channel - "The United States has supported us strongly since the first days of this war, not only with weapons, but also on the financial level."
"It is necessary to further tighten sanctions to deprive Russia of the ability to finance the war," he added.
And secrecy surrounded Yellen's visit until she left Kiev, which is the same thing that Biden followed in his visit.
Secretary of Staff Aides issued a daily briefing stating that she will "meet with advisors and staff" on Monday.
Shortly before arriving in Kiev, air raid sirens sounded in the city, warning of a possible attack, but often false alarms.
In the context of Western support, the United States and Canada announced the imposition of new sanctions against Russia, which Moscow commented on that it is preparing to respond to.
Chinese plan
On the other hand, the US State Department considered that the Chinese peace plan regarding Ukraine may not be a serious proposal.
Beijing talks about continuing its contacts with the parties regarding its peace initiative, which Kiev had welcomed earlier.
For its part, Moscow said that the time is not yet appropriate for this step, and the Russian presidency (the Kremlin) considered that the Chinese peace plan to resolve the Ukrainian crisis is a "long and exhausting process," saying that its details must be subject to careful analysis and calculations.
besieged Bakhmut
On the ground, the Ukrainian president warned that the situation in Bakhmut is constantly getting more difficult, and that the Russian forces are targeting everything that can be used for protection and fortification, describing the Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting in Bakhmut as "real heroes."
The Russian armed "Wagner" group said that it had taken control of more areas north of the city, while the leader of the separatist "Donetsk People's Republic" Denis Pushilin said that the conditions on the Bakhmut front are favorable for encircling what he called the "enemy" and narrowing the siege on it.
Igor Kimakovsky, advisor to the governor of Donetsk, said that all roads leading to Bakhmut are under the fire control of the Russian forces, but it is too early to talk about a complete encirclement of the city, as he put it.
He explained that the Ukrainian forces are trying to deliver supplies into the city, but their efforts failed and incurred heavy losses.
The battle for control of the industrial city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is Russia's longest since the war began a year ago.
Zelensky has previously confirmed that the Ukrainians will fight in defense of Bakhmut as long as they can.
Moscow attaches great importance to controlling Bakhmut, but observers believe that this matter will be no more than symbolic, based on the limited strategic importance of the city.
In a related context, a Russian drone attack on Monday killed two people and wounded 3 in Khmelnitsky (western Ukraine), according to what the city's mayor announced.
On the other hand, the Russian army said that it targeted the "Special Operations Command Center in the West" near the city of Khmelnytsky.
This came after the Ukrainian forces announced that the Russian army launched an attack with about 14 drones on the northern side of the country, including the capital, Kiev, and that the defenses shot down 11 of them.