Blinken arrives in Kyiv for 'important opportunity'

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted early
on the morning of May 6 that he had landed in Kyiv. Secretary Blinken is scheduled
to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal,
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and representatives of civil society.

Blinken also tweeted that, “This will be an important
opportunity to discuss continued Russian aggression and to underscore the need
for maintaining both the pace and focus on reforms with our Ukrainian
partners.”

Foreign Minister Kuleba told CNN in an interview that
Ukraine will be asking for military assistance including permission to purchase
anti-sniper and anti-aircraft systems. “I want to make it clear that it’s not
only about receiving it from the United States, but also about buying it from
the United States,” he said.

James Hydzik: There
should be no surprises during Blinken’s visit. Both Washington and Kyiv have
clear agendas and common ground from which to iron out any differences of
opinion. Zelensky seems to have found a path forward for putting a cap on
corruption in the judiciary with his fight against the Constitutional Court,
which is a real enough fight, but also gives him an excuse for not working at
taking on the judiciary as a whole for at least the mid-term. He’ll have a
tougher time regarding recent events concerning replacing Andriy Kobolev as CEO of Naftogaz,
but this will not sour the mood of the meeting. Russian aggression and Ukraine’s potential NATO MAP
was a topic of discussion during Zelensky’s visit to Warsaw on May 3, will both
be on the table as well.