Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Kyiv on Sunday.
"I don't think this is a secret that people from the US are coming to us tomorrow, State Secretary Mr. Blinken and the Defense Secretary (Lloyd Austin) who are coming to us," Zelensky said at a press conference held in an underground subway station in the Ukrainian capital.
Zelensky also said, "We will be expecting, when the security will allow, the President of the United States to come and to talk to us."
Zelensky told CNN's Jake Tapper last week that he would like President Joe Biden to visit Ukraine.
"I think he will," Zelensky said, adding that it was Biden's decision and would depend on the security situation.
Biden, who has previously suggested he wants to go to Ukraine, said earlier this month that he was working with his team to determine whether he should dispatch a senior member of his administration to the country.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated Monday during a news conference that there are no plans in place for Biden to travel to Ukraine. "That has not changed -- what our focus continues to be on is providing Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian leaders -- a historic amount of security assistance," Psaki told CNN.
Psaki said that if an administration official were to visit Ukraine, the White House would not publicly disclose that information ahead of the time, citing security concerns.
The White House and State Department declined to comment Saturday on Blinken and Austin's potential trip to Ukraine.
CNN
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