On September 7, the second day of his visit to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited a State Border Guard facility on the outskirts of Kyiv, CNN reports. There, he descended into an underground bomb shelter and later inspected American armored vehicles and spy drones.
![US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tours a State Border Guard site in the Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on September 7. Brendan Smialowski/AP](https://euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/blinken-1.jpg)
Border guards gave Blinken a bottle of Crimean wine from his birth year. In addition, he left his signature on the Ukrainian flag.
![US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tours a State Border Guard site in the Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on September 7. Brendan Smialowski/AP](https://euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/blinken-3.jpg)
![US Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves his signature on the Ukrainian flag in the Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on September 7. Brendan Smialowski/AP](https://euromaidanpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/blinken-4.jpg)
Blinken then visited a Ukrainian demining center, which plays a key role in Ukraine’s attempts to safely reclaim territory from Russia.
Blinken arrived in Kyiv on September 6 for an unannounced official visit. He met with President Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Kuleba, among others. The top US official announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine totaling over $1 billion, which for the first time will include depleted uranium shells for US Abrams tanks. Blinken also stated “significant progress” by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield.
Read more:
- Blinken visits Kyiv, expected to announce new $1 billion military aid package (updated)
- CNN: Blinken announces $1 bln in new aid for Ukraine to boost counteroffensive