U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine at a meeting Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the wake of Kyiv’s heightened tensions with Russia, fueled by Moscow’s recent troop buildup near their border.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine at a meeting Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the wake of Kyiv’s heightened tensions with Russia, fueled by Moscow’s recent troop buildup near their border. (1 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pose for a photo after their talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (2 of 14) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second right, attend the during their meeting talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and reaffirmed Washington's support for the country in the wake of heightened tensions with Russia. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) (3 of 14) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, attend the during their meeting talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and reaffirmed Washington's support for the country in the wake of heightened tensions with Russia, fueled by its recent troop buildup. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) (4 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken greets Ukrainian policemen upon departure from Boryspil International airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and reaffirmed Washington's support for the country in the wake of heightened tensions with Russia. (5 of 14) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, attend the during their meeting talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) (6 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves upon departure from Boryspil International airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and reaffirmed Washington's support for the country in the wake of heightened tensions with Russia. (7 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pays respect to the Memorial Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in Russian-Ukrainian War in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (8 of 14) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the war-hit Donbas region, eastern Ukraine. Ukrainians hold strong hopes for the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State — increased military aid and strong support for NATO membership among them. By coming to Ukraine so early in his tenure, before any trip to Russia, Antony Blinken is signaling that Ukraine is a high foreign-policy priority for the President Joe Biden administration. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP, File) (9 of 14) Ukrainian soldiers walk next to a destroyed house near a fighting position on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk, Ukraine. Soldiers anxiety is high amid an increase in attacks this year. After a long period of tense quiet last year, 34 soldiers have been killed this year by firing from the separatists. (10 of 14) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, greet each other by touching elbows to curb the spread of COVID-19 ahead of their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (11 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media during talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (12 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, accompanied by the Head of the Independent Ukrainian Church Metropolitan Epiphanius, left, visit the Mikhailovsky Zlatoverkhy Cathedral (St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral) in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. Blinken is in Kyiv on Thursday, meeting top Ukrainian officials during a one-day visit that is highly anticipated in the country as it faces heightened tensions with Russia. (13 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, accompanied by the Head of the Independent Ukrainian Church Metropolitan Epiphanius, second left, visits the Mikhailovsky Zlatoverkhy Cathedral (St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral) in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021 (14 of 14) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Ukraine's Prime Minister Denis Shmygal greet each other prior to their talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 6, 2021. May 07, 2021 The top American diplomat met with Zelenskyy during his one-day visit and reiterated the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” while also underscoring the importance of Ukrainian efforts to tackle widespread corruption and carry out reforms. “Ukraine is facing two challenges: aggression from outside, coming from Russia, and in effect aggression from within, coming from corruption, oligarchs and others who are putting their interests ahead of those of the Ukrainian people,” Blinken told a news conference after meeting with Zelenskyy. By visiting so early in his tenure, before any trip to Russia, Blinken signaled that Ukraine is a high priority for President Joe Biden’s foreign policy. His visit was highly anticipated in Ukraine, with hopes for increased military aid and strong support for NATO membership being voiced on the front lines of the battle against Russia-backed separatists in the east and in the halls of government in Kyiv. Ukraine has seen an increase in hostilities in the east in recent months. Ukraine’s military says 35 of its soldiers have been killed by rebel attacks this year, a significant rise from the latter part of 2020. Russia, which claims it has no soldiers in eastern Ukraine, fueled the tensions this year by massing troops and conducting large-scale military exercises near the border. Zelenskyy has made it clear that he wants significant action — “a clear signal about the European and Euro-Atlantic prospect,” as he said Monday on Twitter, referring to Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO and the European Union. “Postponing these issues for ‘later,’ ‘some day,’ ‘(in) 10 years’ has to end.” Blinken said Ukraine's “Euro-Atlantic aspirations” were discussed with Zelenskyy and that the U.S. was “actively looking” at strengthening its security assistance to Ukraine, but didn't give details. Zelenskyy also said the military support and the financial support from the U.S. “is increasing,” but didn't elaborate. Both noted that while Russia has pulled back some of its forces from the border, a significant number of troops and equipment is still there. Blinken said Washington was watching the situation “very, very closely," as “Russia has the capacity, on fairly short notice, to take aggressive action if it so chooses." “I can tell you, Mr. President, that we stand strongly with you," Blinken said. In Brussels on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said the 30-nation military alliance “needs to stay vigilant and closely monitor the developments” in and around Ukraine. “We have seen some reduction in the number of Russian troops, but tens of thousands remain, and we also see that Russia has kept a lot of weapons, prepositioned equipment, and they’re also imposing restrictions in the Black Sea,” Stoltenberg told reporters. Efforts have stalled to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 14,000 people since it broke out in 2014. Zelenskyy has called for the U.S. to try to push these efforts forward by joining the negotiations of the “Normandy Format” that consists of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. Russia is almost certain to oppose any U.S. involvement in the negotiations. Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine also was worried about Russia’s announcement last month that it was redeploying warships from its Caspian flotilla to the Sea of Azov, an extension of the Black Sea that borders Ukraine and Russia. “There is now a big threat in the Sea of Azov; it is unprecedentedly large,” Kuleba said. Zelenskyy said he discussed security in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov with Blinken, but wouldn’t reveal any details. He also said he invited Biden to visit Ukraine this year, and Blinken said the U.S. president would “welcome the opportunity at the right time.” Earlier in the day, Blinken met with Kuleba, and they both joined Metropolitan Epiphaniy — head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which split from Russia’s Orthodox Church. They laid flowers at a memorial to Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict in the east and toured St. Michael’s Monastery. Blinken also met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who tweeted that his visit to Kyiv was “a manifestation of firm support and a high level of relations of two states,” and with Ukrainian lawmakers. Blinken's visit to Kyiv comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow over Ukraine, imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and accusations of hacking and election interference. Last month, Biden suggested to Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet for talks in a third country in an effort to defuse tensions. The Kremlin has been considering the proposal. Asked by the Russian state news agency Tass on Thursday whether there was a list of possible places for the meeting, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had “still nothing to tell about the possible meeting.” Kyiv-based political analyst Vadym Karasev said Washington was trying to avoid “sharp and loud statements in order not to thwart the (possible) meeting of Putin and Biden, during which the issue of de-escalation near Ukrainian borders should be resolved for good.” “That's why Blinken used the whole arsenal of a sophisticated diplomat in order to becalm Kyiv on one hand by promising to increase military and financial support, and on other had not to force the question of Ukraine's NATO membership,” Karasev said. “Both Washington and Kyiv need one thing today — to avoid a hot war with Russia and to make Russian troops pull back from the Ukrainian border,” Karasev said. “If diplomatic methods are exhausted, only then one should expect vivid metaphors and loud accusations from loudspeakers.” --------------------------  The Latest News in Europe,Leaders of Ukraine, Multi-intentions'  France, Germany holding security talks. PARIS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Paris on Friday for talks with Multi-intentions'  France with its French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid his country's growing tensions with neighboring Russia, which has deployed troops near its border with Ukraine. 1 of 5) French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, pose with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Olena Zelenska before a working lunch at the Elysee palace in Paris, Friday, April 16, 2021. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid growing tensions with Russia, which has deployed troops at the border with the country. (2 of 5) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee palace in Paris, Friday, April 16, 2021. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid growing tensions with Russia, which has deployed troops at the border with the country. (3 of 5) French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Elysee palace in Paris, Friday, April 16, 2021. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid growing tensions with Russia, which has deployed troops at the border with the country. April 16, 2021 Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena, were greeted by Macron and his wife, Brigitte, before lunch at the Elysee presidential palace. The two heads of state plan to meet with Merkel by videoconference, Macron's office said. The talks come as Ukraine and the West have sounded alarms in recent weeks about the concentration of troops along Russia’s western border, a buildup that the U.S. and NATO have described as the largest there since 2014. Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting in eastern Ukraine for seven years. “Our goal...is to de-escalate tensions,” a French official at the French presidency said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the talks. “All the work we’re doing is in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” the official said. In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Zelenskyy said security issues were on the meeting's agenda. “Europe’s security is depending on Ukraine’s security,” he told the newspaper, adding that his country is seeking support from the European Union and NATO. “It’s time to stop talking and to make decisions,” Zelenskyy said. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting in eastern Ukraine, which erupted after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled, and violations of a shaky truce have become increasingly frequent in recent weeks. The Kremlin said it hoped Macron and Merkel would persuade Zelenskyy to observe the cease-fire agreement and implement a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine that was signed in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The Kremlin expects the French and German leaders to “use their influence and convey the need to resolutely stop any provocative actions along the line of control and emphasize the importance of the unconditional observation of the cease-fire,” Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said Friday. Zelenskyy said Thursday after chairing a meeting of Ukraine’s security council that the discussions in Paris would be important to preparing for more talks involving the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany. Their last meeting in Paris in December 2019 helped ease tensions but failed to make any progress on a political settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. ---------------------------- Soliciting for Maziliteralworks' Donation/any amount or Media laptop/window Computers' Donation, Phone Media Assistance for Mazi Literal Works' Dissemination/Publication.Upon your Response,more info of the US/Canadian Coordinator  will be sent. 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