US said to mull sending top administration official to Kyiv
Reports say neither Biden nor Kamala Harris likely to make trip, but senior cabinet officials such as secretaries of state and defense being considered
The Biden administration is considering sending a senior official to Kyiv in a show of support amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to several reports Wednesday.
The New York Times and Reuters said it was unlikely that US President Joe Biden would visit the Ukrainian capital, though Politico said it was still possible that either Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris could make the trip.
Biden and Harris each recently visited Poland, a NATO member bordering Ukraine.
Both Politico and Reuters named Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as cabinet figures considered much more likely to travel to Ukraine, while The New York Times suggested a senior military figure could visit Kyiv with a smaller security detail.
No final decision on sending an official has been made. No high-level US official has been in Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24.
The reports came the same day that Biden announced another $800 million in military aid after speaking by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, including heavier equipment such as helicopters and armored vehicles.
A number of Western leaders have recently made solidarity visits to Ukraine, among them British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
On Wednesday, the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia visited Kyiv to meet Zelensky.
The Times of Israel Community.