Blinken, Austin meet their Ukrainian counterparts ahead of Biden’s speech

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met their Ukrainian counterparts Dmytro Kuleba and Oleksii Reznikov respectively on Saturday in a “2+2” meeting for the first time since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

The meeting, which took place at Warsaw, saw the four officials discuss issues pertaining to the defence of Ukraine against the ongoing Russian assault.

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Commenting on the agenda of the meeting, Kuleba said on Twitter, “This special 2+2 format allows us to seek practical decisions in both political and defence spheres in order to fortify Ukraine’s ability to fight back Russian aggression.”

Similarly, Reznikov said that the meeting saw the officials discuss “current issues and cooperation in political and defence directions between Ukraine and America.”

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Both Ukrainian officials also said that they would be present for US President Joe Biden’s speech at Warsaw later today, which the White House has promised will be a “major” one.

The White House had also said that President Biden would “drop by” during the meeting between Blinken, Austin, Kuleba, and Reznikov, but at the time of writing this article, the US President had not shown up at the meeting.

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With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine no closer to a peaceful resolution than it was a month back, President Biden has travelled to Europe to take stock of the situation first hand.

President Biden’s trip to Europe began in Brussels, and saw him travel to Poland to visit US troops posted there. The 79-year-old’s trip will end with tonight’s speech at the Polish capital of Warsaw.