The US State Department said yesterday that the US, which had been closed for three months due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reopened its embassy in Kiev.
“The people of Ukraine, with our security assistance, defended their homeland against the inconceivable invasion of Russia, and as a result, the US flag is once again flying from the embassy,” Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“We stand proudly next to the Ukrainian government and people and continue to support them as they defend their country from the Kremlin’s brutal war of aggression.”
On Wednesday night, the US Senate also approved career diplomat official Bridget Brink as Ukraine’s new ambassador.
Since 2019, when former President Donald Trump dismissed Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, there has been no permanent representative of the US government confirmed by the Senate.
Yovanovitch would later become a key witness in Trump’s first impeachment trial, which focused on Republicans’ reluctance to provide military aid to Ukraine.
Bob Menéndez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was “proud to spearhead the speedy approval of the Senate (Brink)”.
Bridget Brink was appointed by President Joe Biden a few weeks ago.
The Foreign Ministry closed the embassy in Kiev on February 14, 10 days before Russian troops crossed the border in a belated effort to overthrow the Ukrainian government and install another pro-Moscow government.
US diplomats continued to operate in Lviv in western Ukraine, and spend several nights in neighboring Poland for security reasons, during the three months that were shut down in Kiev.
The return to Kiev comes weeks after Ukrainian forces defeated Russian efforts to take control of northern Ukraine and the capital, and the war shifted to the east and south of the country.
“As we take this important step, we have taken additional measures and improved our security measures and protocols to enhance the safety of our colleagues returning to Kiev,” said Blinken.
source: Noticias
