U.S. diplomats return to the Kyiv embassy since the war

U.S. diplomats return to the Kyiv embassy since the war.

Officials reported that US senior diplomat to Ukraine Kristina Kvien and her staff arrived in Kyiv on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed to restore the US embassy in the Ukrainian capital shortly during a visit last month.

The decision is the latest step toward the United States resuming a full presence in Kyiv after diplomats started returning to the western city of Lviv last month after leaving the nation ahead of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion due to security concerns.

According to a senior State Department source, the trip, which was scheduled to honor Victory in Europe Day on Sunday, was a brief visit and did not herald the embassy’s reopening. On Monday, Russia commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 on Victory Day.

On Sunday, Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, informing him that a small group led by Charge d’Affaires Kvien “traveled to Kyiv to conduct diplomatic engagement in advance of the planned resumption of Embassy Kyiv operations,” according to a statement from State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

According to Price, the party was escorted by State Department security.

A motorcade was seen coming into the embassy premises in videos uploaded on social media on Sunday.

Apart from Blinken’s visit with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, this is the first delegation from the Biden administration to visit Ukraine’s capital since the invasion. The embassy was not seen by Blinken and Austin.

Jill Biden, the first lady of the United States, visited Ukraine on Sunday, crossing the border from Slovakia and meeting Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska.

According to a senior State Department source, Blinken has directed staff to work on having diplomats back in Kyiv as quickly as possible “compatible with the safety and security imperatives.”

“Our return to Kyiv is a monument to Ukraine’s achievement, Moscow’s failure, and our successful and lasting collaboration with the government and people of a sovereign, democratic, and free Ukraine,” the official added.