A small group of diplomats- in addition to State Department security- traveled to Kyiv to prepare the US Embassy there for its resumption of operations for the first time since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, US State Secretary of Antony Blinken told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during a phone call on Sunday.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price wrote in a readout of the call that Kuleba was informed by the Secretary of State of the arrival of the US Charge d’Affaires Kristina Kvien and a small group of diplomats, accompanied by State Department security.
The US delegation, as Blinken noted, is to conduct diplomatic engagement in advance of the planned resumption of operations of the US Embassy in the Ukrainian capital city in line with what the Secretary has pledged to Ukraine President Zelenskyy during his most recent visit to Kyiv.
Kvien’s arrival in Kyiv was also announced on the US Embassy on Kyiv’s Twitter account Sunday along with the #standwithUkraine hashtag.
The United States has suspended its embassy operations in Ukraine in February as Russia’s invasion was just beginning after initially moving operations to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv before relocating to Poland.
However, a senior official at the US State Department said that this is a temporary visit and does not signal the reopening of the Embassy in Kyiv at this time.
Blinken noted last month that with the security of the US personnel foremost in mind, the actual reopening of the embassy in Kyiv will take place over a couple of weeks, with careful follow-up steps.
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