Blinken makes unannounced Kyiv visit to review Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia

Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Ukraine for an unannounced visit Wednesday, landing in Kyiv hours after Russia launched its first missile attack in a week against the Ukrainian capital.

Blinken’s trip is focused on assessing the strategy and effectiveness of Ukraine’s three-month-old counteroffensive against Russia’s troops in occupied Ukrainian territories. The visit is also to signal continued U.S. support for Ukraine amid some concerns among Western allies over the pace of progress in the more than 550-day war, according to U.S. officials.

The senior U.S. diplomat aims to get a view on how Ukraine’s counteroffensive operation, which Kyiv’s troops launched in June, is progressing and what kind of support is required in the current phase of the battle.