“We’ve seen good progress in the counteroffensive, which is very heartening.

We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in
the counteroffensive, but it has what it needs for the long term, to make sure
that it has a strong deterrent… so that in the future, aggressions like this don’t
happen again,” Blinken added.
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He added he wanted to work with partners to “build and rebuild a strong
economy (and) a strong democracy” in Ukraine.

The visit by Washington’s top diplomat is an opportunity for the United States
and Ukraine to align ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
later this month, a senior state department official told reporters traveling with
Blinken.

“The Ukrainians have an important mission in New York to continue to

explain – to their allies and partners around the world – what’s going on and
their continued need for support. And it’s important for us to continue to lead
that global effort to support them,” the official said.

The official reiterated an argument for supporting Ukraine that Biden has
made in the past, saying that it is about “dictators and autocrats not being able
to bite off a piece of their neighbor and get to keep it live that way with
impunity.” When asked if the new package of support would include depleted-
uranium munitions, after a report that the administration had decided to move
ahead with the controversial munitions, the official would not comment.

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While some US officials have been privately critical of Ukraine’s

counteroffensive strategy, the official would not delve into specifics other than
to say that now is the right time to “come and assess” how the
counteroffensive is going.