Russian forces launched missile attacks on train stations in central and western Ukraine, 24 hours after the United States Top Officials traveled to Kyiv via railway.
According to Ukrainian media, Russian missiles targeted stations in the Lviv, Rivne, Vinnytsia, and Kyiv areas in the early morning hours, including one in Krasne, just 70 miles from the Polish border.
The head of Ukraine's train service, Alexander Kamyshin, claimed the strikes all happened within an hour of one another on Monday. He confirmed that there were fatalities from the attack, but he didn't elaborate, according to Daily Mail.
The strikes were reportedly so near the Polish border that some interpreted it as a threat from Moscow to the West as it happened 24 hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine.
US Top Officials Assure Further Assistance To Ukraine
Blinken and Austin headed to Kyiv, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials, making them the highest-ranking US officials to visit Ukraine since the Russian war started in late February, according to a report from CNN.
According to a senior State Department official, Blinken and Austin met with Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, and Interior Minister Denys Monastrysky during their visit to Kyiv.
Among the issues covered during the three-hour meeting were defense aid, more sanctions on Russia, and financial support for Ukraine, as per Ukrainian President Zelenksyy's staff.
Zelensky expressed his appreciation for the "unprecedented assistance" that the US extended to Ukraine.
"I would like to thank President Biden personally and on behalf of the entire Ukrainian people for his leadership in supporting Ukraine, for his personal clear position," Zelensky said.
The Top US officials told Zelenskyy that the US would provide Ukraine with $322 million in additional assistance. While Austin told Zelenskyy that the first of the new Howitzers arrived in Ukraine as part of the increased support to Ukraine announced last week.
Blinken also informed Zelenskyy that the US would start sending diplomats back to Ukraine this week. According to a senior US official, the US would reopen offices in Lviv, western Ukraine, with diplomats coming there daily from Poland, to have "our diplomats return to our embassy in Kyiv as soon as possible."
A senior State Department official disclosed that President Joe Biden also would officially nominate Bridget Brink, the current US ambassador to Slovakia, to be the US ambassador to Ukraine.
Saw the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people firsthand during my visit to Kyiv with @SecDef Austin. During our meeting with President @ZelenskyyUA, we reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine as it withstands Russian aggression.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 25, 2022
Blinken: Russia "Failed" To Conquer Ukraine
Blinken held a press conference in an undisclosed location in Poland near the Ukrainian border following his visit to Kyiv. He disclosed to journalists that the Russian attempts to "subjugate Ukraine" and destroy its sovereignty had "failed."
According to Blinken, Russia's "principal aim" is to subjugate and take away the independence of Ukraine completely.
"It has sought to assert the power of its military and its economy, we, of course, are seeing just the opposite, a military that is dramatically underperforming and an economy ... as a result of sanctions that is in shambles," The US Secretary of State said, per ABC News report.
