Russia is "failing" in its war aims and "Ukraine is succeeding," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday from an undisclosed location in Poland near its border with Ukraine, hours after visiting Kyiv.
The big picture: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after also meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the country's capital that Ukraine could win the war against Russia "if they have the right equipment, the right support," pledging the U.S. would "do everything we can" to help.
- The pledge came as American officials told reporters Blinken and Austin promised Zelensky over $300 million in foreign military financing and that a $165 million sale of ammunition had been approved.
- They also said diplomats would gradually begin returning to Ukraine starting this week, with the ultimate goal of reopening the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
What they're saying: Blinken said that the Kremlin "has sought as its principal aim to totally subjugate Ukraine" and "take away" the country's independence. "That has failed," he added.
- The Kremlin had "sought to assert the power of its military, its economy," but the opposite was happening, Blinken said.
- "We don’t know how the rest of this war will unfold, but we do know that a sovereign independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin is on the scene."
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
