WASHINGTON – CIA Director William Burns recently traveled to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian intelligence chiefs, a US official confirmed to NBC News on Saturday.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the trip, said Burns had traveled regularly to the Eastern European country “since the start of the recent Russian aggression over a year ago.”
“As on other trips, the director met with his Ukrainian intelligence counterparts and President Zelenskyy, reaffirming the United States’ commitment to intelligence sharing to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression,” the official said.
The official pointed out that the trip, reported for the first time by the washington postit was before the head of Wagner’s mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, launched a short-lived armed rebellion and marched his troops on Moscow more than a week ago before suddenly reversing his decision and announcing a deal with the Kremlin.
Therefore, it had not been a topic of discussion.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence also made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Thursday, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to do so.
Pence, who also met with Zelenskyy, has been outspoken in his support for Ukraine, and the move sends a strong message that he believes the United States must play a leading role in the country’s fight against Russia.
It puts Pence in a unique position within the Republican Party, once dominated by hawks who advocated against growing Russian influence, but is now led by a man who has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, and whose base largely does not is interested in supporting Ukraine.
The day after Pence’s visit to Ukraine, three senior US officials said the US was leaning toward providing cluster munitions, or dual-purpose enhanced conventional munitions, or DPICM, to Ukraine. Two of the officials said there could be an announcement this month, but one declined to provide a timeline for an announcement.
DPICMs are surface-to-surface warheads that explode and disperse multiple small munitions or bombs over wide areas, causing more widespread destruction than individual rounds. Projectiles can be sharp charges that penetrate armored vehicles, or they can break or fragment to be more dangerous and deadly to personnel.
Ukraine has been requesting DPICM from the US since last year, but the idea has met with resistance due to an international treaty, called the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the transfer, use and stockpiling of weapons.
The United States, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories to the treaty, but more than 100 countries are, including many US allies.
Many human rights groups oppose their use due to concerns that unexploded bomblets, or duds, could explode after battle, potentially injuring or killing innocent civilians.
Inside Ukraine, authorities reported that fierce fighting continued on Saturday in three areas of the country’s Donetsk region, where Russia has massed troops and tried to advance.
In the latest of its regular social media updates, the Ukrainian General Staff named the outskirts of three cities – Bakhmut, Lyman and Marinka – as frontline hot spots, saying that Russia had made unsuccessful assault attempts the day before. over there.
Meanwhile, in the city of Kherson, two children were injured by shelling that hit residential neighbourhoods, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military authority, said in a Telegram post.
The 9-year-old girl and the 15-year-old boy were receiving medical attention after a shell hit their home, he said.
Courtney Kube reported from Washington and Leila Sackur from London.
Associated Press contributed.
