Russia-Ukraine conflict: US Congressional delegation visits Kyiv, pledges continued support

Over the weekend, a top US Congressional delegation visited Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The delegation pledged Washington’s continued support for Kyiv as the war is in its fifth month.

The top delegation from the US House of Representatives visited Kyiv over the weekend, led by Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee.

The visit by the delegation is the latest of high-profile visits by the US to Ukraine. The delegation met with Zelenskyy and pledged continued support by the US of Ukraine.

“The United States, along with allies and partners around the world, have stood with Ukraine by providing economic, military, and humanitarian assistance,” the delegation said in a statement. “We will continue to seek ways to support President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people as effectively as possible as they continue their brave stand.”

This follows Defense secretary Lloyd Austin’s announcement Wednesday last week, that the US will provide Ukraine with four more HIMARS rocket systems, bringing the total to 16.

The visit comes amidst a series of gains made by the Ukrainian forces against the continued strikes by Russian troops. A Ukrainian regional official said Ukrainian forces struck a bridge in the occupied territory of Kherson Saturday. The strike targeted a Russian supply route on the Dariyvskyi bridge across the Ingulets river.

Days before, a bridge over the Dnieper was also hit, according to the adviser of the regional governor in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

“Every bridge is a weak point for logistics and our armed forces are skillfully destroying the enemy system. This is not yet the liberation of Kherson, but a serious preparatory step in that direction,” said Serhiy Khlan in a post on Facebook.

Ukraine’s defense ministry Saturday also told the citizens who are in and around the city of Enerhodar in southern Ukraine, to reveal where Russian forces are living, and who among the local population is collaborating with the occupying forces. Enerhodar was seized by Russian forces in the early stages of the war.

The defense ministry’s intelligence directorate also asked for routes that Russian military equipment was using in Enerhodar.