Aspen, Colorado/KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday, noting that more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the U.S. were to withdraw its support under a different president. Blinken for the first time directly addressed the possibility that former President Donald Trump could win the November election and back away from commitments to Ukraine. The U.S., under President Joe Biden, has been the most important supporter of Ukraine’s more than two-year battle against invading Russian forces. Trump’s public comments have varied between criticizing U.S. backing for Ukraine’s defense and supporting it, while his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, has been a leader of Republican efforts to block what have been billions in U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. Blinken said Friday that any new administration would have to consider strong bipartisan backing in Congress for Ukraine in the interests of countering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to expand Moscow’s territory and influence. “Every administration has an opportunity, of course, to set its own policy. We can’t lock in the future,” Blinken said, speaking to an audience of U.S. policymakers and others at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. But he pointed to the security agreements that the United States and more than 20 other allies — including some NATO partners, Japan and the European Union — signed at a NATO summit in Washington this month. Ukraine itself is on a trajectory to ensure it “stands on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically,” Blinken said. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba made similar points Friday during an online question and answer session on the social media site Reddit. He particularly stressed Kyiv’s willingness to work with whichever party won the U.S. general election. “I believe any U.S. administration should respect three features that make Ukraine different from other partners of America who had sought its support,” he said. “We never asked U.S. troops to fight and die for Ukraine, we only requested weapons and support to our economy; we never intended to rely on foreign aid indefinitely and this is why we are reforming our economy and tripled domestic weapon production last year and plan to increase it sixfold this year; and we are fully transparent in using the U.S. assistance.” In Ukraine on Saturday, at least two people were killed and three more injured after a Russian missile strike on infrastructure in the country’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Ukrainian officials also confirmed that the death toll following a Russian strike Friday on the city of Mykolaiv, had risen to four. A child was among the victims, said the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych. Writing about the Mykolaiv strike on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a projectile had hit a playground next to an apartment block. “Russia proves every day with its terror that ‘pressure’ is not enough,” he said. “This destruction of life must be stopped. We need new solutions to support our defenses. Russia must feel the power of the world.” Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Russia had launched four missiles and 17 drones overnight, of which 13 drones had been shot down. The attacks have left thousands of people without power or running water in the Poltava region of central Ukraine, Governor Filip Pronin said. Russia has relentlessly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to blackouts across the country. A pulverizing Russian onslaught in recent months has forced Kyiv’s troops to withdraw from some towns and villages in the eastern Donetsk region. The latest targets are the mining town of Toretsk and the city of Pokrovsk, where Russia is stepping up its assaults. Ukrainian forces repelled 20 and 27 attacks on those areas respectively over 24 hours, Ukraine’s General Staff said Friday. That was almost double the number of assaults recorded at other hot spots along the front line, it said. Russia’s Defense Ministry also announced Saturday that it had shot down 26 Ukrainian drones over Russia’s southern Rostov region, several hundred kilometers from the front line. Three more drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region, as well as one over the Smolensk region, it said. No casualties were reported.
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