KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday met with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the details of the $2.2 billion package, of which $1 billion will go to Ukraine, U.S. assistance for Ukraine, the presidential press service said.

During the talks in Kyiv, the parties talked about U.S. financial, economic and military aid for Ukraine, in particular, the security assistance of $675 million announced by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier in the day.

Zelensky thanked the U.S. government for the recent decision to provide Ukraine with $6 billion in grant aid, which includes $3 billion in security assistance and $3 billion in financial support earmarked through the World Bank.

Speaking about military assistance from the United States, Zelensky said that American weapons, especially the HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems, have strengthened Ukraine’s positions in the conflict with Russia.

Zelensky and Blinken also discussed the prospects of increasing defense support for Ukraine and the launch of the Lend-Lease program.

Blinken arrived in Kyiv earlier in the day for his second visit since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February this year.

 

China Warns Supplying Weapons  Will Not Bring Peace to Ukraine

 

Chinese deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang warned on Thursday that supplying weapons to Ukraine will not bring peace.

More than six months after the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, fierce fighting is still raging on and more weapons and ammunition are flowing to the battlefield, giving rise to a worrying prospect of a prolonged and expanded conflict, said Geng Shuang, Xinhua news agency reported.

Since the beginning of the crisis, China has consistently emphasized that supplying weapons will not bring peace and that adding fuel to fire will only complicate the problem.

The harsh reality and humanitarian consequences of the past six months have fully demonstrated this, he told a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

Equally worrying is the scenario that a large number of weapons and ammunition falling into the wrong hands, causing endless trouble, and creating security risks in Ukraine and in the wider region. Relevant negative impact has already begun to emerge, he said.

“China has always maintained that dialogue and negotiation is the most realistic and feasible way to resolve the crisis. Only by seeking common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security can there be long-term stability and security in Europe and the rest of the world,” he said.

The Ukrainian crisis has once again proved in a brutal way that pursuing power politics, seeking absolute security, being obsessed with military power, and creating division and confrontation cannot bring peace and stability, nor reconciliation and tranquility. All parties concerned should remain in contact and communication, and leave room for diplomatic negotiations, so as to create conditions for a political settlement and achieve the cessation of hostilities at an early date, he added.