Wednesday 18 May 2022 10:28 PM US confirms it has REOPENED the embassy in Kyiv after three months trends now
Diplomats raised the Stars and Stripes over the U.S. embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday, signaling that it was open for business again after shutting down three months ago before Russia invaded Ukraine.
It is the latest sign of business as usual in the Ukrainian capital after its forces pushed back Russian troops.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops celebrated the arrival of heavy weapons from the U.S. by writing 'From America With Love' on new howitzer artillery pieces.
And Ukraine said this week its armed forces had destroyed Russian tanks deep behind enemy lines in the Donbas region using British-made Brimstone missiles for the first time.
The result is the resumption of operations at the American embassy.
'When we suspended operations at the embassy, we made the point clear: while we would relocate U.S. embassy personnel for their safety and security, this would in no way prevent our engagement with, and support for, the Ukrainian people, government, and civil society as well as our allies and partners,' said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, adding that extra security measures had been implemented.
He paid tribute to the heroism of the Ukrainian resistance.
The Stars and Stripes was hoisted about the U.S. embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it had resumed operations after about three months
A small crowd gathered outside the embassy gates to watch the flag being raised
The embassy announced its resumption of business with a Twitter post
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces thanked the U.S. for the delivery of howitzer artillery pieces. The wrote 'From America With Love' on the barrel of one
Ukrainian forces have moved most of their U.S.-made howitzers to the frontline of their war with Russia, helping push back invading troops to the east
'Today we are officially resuming operations at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. The Ukrainian people, with our security assistance, have defended their homeland in the face of Russia's unconscionable invasion, and, as a result, the Stars and Stripes are flying over the embassy once again.
A small crowd gathered outside its gates as the flag went up.
Elsewhere, it emerged that Vladimir Putin had finally deployed his feared 'Terminator' armored vehicles, designed to support infantry units fighting in urban areas, in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
And photographs revealed that Ukrainian gunners had written 'From America with Love' on newly delivered howitzers.
General Valerii Fedorovych Zaluzhnyi, 48, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, summed up their jubilation with the weapons.
'Special greetings and thanks from our artillerymen to the American people for the M777 howitzer,' he wrote on Facebook.
'My guys know the price of artillery. First of all, they wanted to convey that this is a high-precision and very effective weapon.'
A senior U.S. defense official said they were already proving effective.
'You're already seeing the Ukrainians being willing to go on the counteroffensive in the Donbas,' the official told reporters.
'They are taking back some towns that the Russians have taken in the past.'
Ukrainian officials told their American counterparts that so far 74 of the 90 M777 artillery cannon supplied to Ukraine are at the forefront of the fight, providing long-range, indirect fire capability.
But Russia said it had struck back, claiming to have hit a Ukrainian battery of 155-mm howitzers manufactured by the United States, its defense ministry said in an update on the 'special military operation.'
Video shows the much-vaunted armored vehicles, which are designed to support infantry units fighting in urban areas, in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine
Russian Tank Support Combat Vehicle BMPT 'Terminator' before Red Square Victory Day's parade
In an effort to bolster Russia's arsenal, a platoon of Terminator military vehicles were deployed and used for the first time in battle in the Donbas.
The BMPTs - or tank support combat vehicles as they are designated - were seen near Severodonetsk in Luhansk region.
'They are involved in the fire destruction
