WASHINGTON: CIA Director William Burns and President Volodymyr Zelensky met recently in Ukraine as the former traveled to Ukraine in a secret trip, a US official confirmed on Friday.
The CIA chief also met with the intelligence counterparts. The trip – not reported at the time – comes as the Ukrainian military brigades pursue a counteroffensive in their south and east against Russian forces, launched earlier this month after weeks of anticipation.
The US official further confirmed that during his trip to the war-hit nation, Burns reaffirmed “the US commitment to sharing intelligence to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression”.
The Washington Post first reported the visit as it said that Ukrainian officials shared plans to take back Russian-occupied territories and begin ceasefire negotiations by the end of the year.
Burns “traveled to Ukraine as he has done regularly since the beginning of Russia’s recent aggression more than a year ago,” the US official said. The newspaper reported that the visit happened in June.
The trip was made before the 24-hour revolt by Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Wagner private military company, according to the US official.
The mutiny — widely seen as the biggest threat to Kremlin authority in decades — “was not a topic of discussion,” the official said further.
The US has tried to make clear to Russia it had no role in the rebellion, with major United States media reporting Friday that Burns called the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, following the uprising to assert that the US was not involved.
Valery Zaluzhny, Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief, has said his country’s counteroffensive plans are being hobbled by the lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to artillery ammunition.
On Tuesday America announced a fresh $500m package of arms to bolster the counteroffensive, including precision munitions, armored vehicles and mine-clearing equipment.
