Blinken visits Ukraine, says U.S. weapons will make a "real difference" as Russia pushes new offensive

Kyiv, Ukraine — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that American military aid on its way to Ukraine will make a "real difference" on the battlefield, as the top diplomat made an unannounced visit to reassure an ally facing a fierce new Russian offensive. In increasingly intense attacks along Ukraine's northeast border in recent days, Moscow's troops have captured around 40 to 50 square miles of territory, including at least seven villages, according to open source monitoring analysts.

Though most of those villages were already depopulated, thousands of civilians in the area have fled the fighting, and analysts have called it one of the most dangerous moments for Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his longstanding, but possibly more urgent request for more air defense systems to protect civilians under Russian fire in the northeast as he met Blinken on Tuesday.