US hopes to return diplomats to Kyiv by end of mont

The US hopes to have its diplomats back in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, “before the end of the month,” according to embassy charge d’affaires Kristina Kvien. Washington closed its embassy in Kyiv days before the Russian invasion.

“We very much hope that conditions will permit us to go back to Kyiv by the end of the month,” Kvien said at a press conference in the western city of Lviv.

The US closed its embassy in Kyiv on February 14, ten days before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, and moved its diplomats westwards.

Kvien said she and her staff were “working day and night in Poland” to “help Ukraine win this war.”

She was in Ukraine on a “day trip” and said US diplomats will “continue to do day trips for the next week or two” to Ukraine.

“We’re thrilled to be back. And we will continue our efforts to do everything possible here on the ground to help Ukraine win this war”.

The US diplomat said her “number one priority is the safety and security of my staff.”

“We listen to the security professionals. If they tell us to go back, we’ll go back” to Kyiv.

Western countries are gradually moving to reinstate a diplomatic presence in Kyiv, where Ukrainian forces have rebuffed a Russian offensive.

Speaking next to the mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadoviy, Kvien said that, nine weeks into the war, it was clear Russian President Vladimir Putin had “made a miscalculation” in Ukraine.

The news came after US Vice President Joe Biden presented a $33 billion aid plan for Ukraine and after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.