The United States resumed activities at its embassy in kyiv on Wednesday. Ukraine’s capital, which closed last February, days before the start of the Russian invasion, announced Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The day has come. Today we are officially resuming operations at the US Embassy in kyiv,” the US foreign minister said in a statement.
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Blinken stressed that the Ukrainians “have defended their homeland against the brutal invasion” and that, as a result, the American flag can “fly again at the embassy.”
The United States closed its embassy in kyiv on February 14, ten days before the start of the Russian invasion, and moved its staff and activities to Lviv in western Ukraine.
After the Russian troops withdrew from the surroundings of the Ukrainian capital in April to concentrate their efforts in the east of the country, the reopening of the American legation in kyiv was expected, as the European Union (EU) had already done with its embassy. .
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The Stars and Stripes fly again over Embassy Kyiv. I can announce that we have officially resumed Embassy operations in Ukraine’s capital. We stand proudly with the government and people of Ukraine as they bravely defend their country from Putin’s brutal invasion. Slava Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/lGRdzqbVbG
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 18, 2022
The Secretary of State reported in the statement that the embassy reopened with “additional measures to increase security” of staff returning to kyiv, given that “the war continues”.
He also assured that the transfer of the legation to Lviv in February did not stop the “commitment” of the United States in support of “the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Ukraine.
“We reaffirm our commitment to the people and government of Ukraine, and look forward to carrying out our mission from the US Embassy in kyiv,” he said.
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Since the withdrawal of Russian troops from the outskirts of kyiv, several US authorities have visited the Ukrainian capital, such as Blinken; Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
US First Lady Jill Biden recently traveled to Ukraine, but only visited Uzhhorod, a city of 100,000 just a few miles from the Slovak border, where she met Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
EFE
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