After three months, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine officially reopened in Kyiv on May 18 with an official flag-raising ceremony.
“Now, that day has come. Today we are officially resuming operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
He continued: “The Ukrainian people, with our security assistance, have defended their homeland in the face of Russia’s unconscionable invasion, and, as a result, the Stars and Stripes are flying over the Embassy once again. We stand proudly with, and continue to support, the government and people of Ukraine as they defend their country from the Kremlin’s brutal war of aggression.”
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine as seen on May 18. (Courtesy of the U.S. State Department)
Just days before Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the U.S. embassy closed and moved to Lviv and then later to Poland.
“We are committed to confronting the challenges ahead. The war rages on. Russia’s forces inflict death and destruction on Ukrainian soil every day,” Blinken said. “Millions of Ukrainians are displaced from their homes and mourn the loss of their loved ones.”
The reopening of the U.S. embassy is the latest since Ukraine won the battle of Kyiv in the first days of April. On May 8, Canada reopened its diplomatic mission in the Ukrainian capital after the European Union also opened its doors.
Washington has provided the most financial and military assistance to Ukraine since Feb. 24 than any other country or political and economic bloc such as, the EU.
A $40 billion assistance bill is being considered in the U.S. Senate after it was passed in the House of Representatives. Washington has already provided more than $3.6 billion to Ukraine in various forms of assistance since the full-scale invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden has also signed a lend-lease act for Ukraine to simplify procedures for getting aid to the war-torn country.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 9 proposed giving Ukraine an additional 9 billion euros worth of macro-financing this year.
“We are proposing to top up the significant short-term relief provided until now, with a new exceptional macro-financial assistance for Ukraine of up to EUR 9 billion in 2022,” she said in a statement. “But we also need to think about the day after for the wider reconstruction effort. The EU has a responsibility and a strategic interest in leading this reconstruction effort.”
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have said that Ukraine needs approximately $5 billion-$7 billion each month to cover a budget deficit as Russia’s invasion drags into its third month and inflicts more damage on infrastructure and the overall economy.
