Ukraine leader pushes for more arms; US officials to visit

Ukraine's leader petitioned for more powerful Western weapons as he prepared to meet with top U.S. officials in the war-torn country's capital Sunday and Russian forces concentrated their attacks on the east, including trying to dislodge the last Ukrainian troops holding out in the battered port city of Mariupol.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a lengthy Saturday night news conference held in a Kiev subway station. The White House has not commented.

Zelensky said he was looking for the Americans to produce results, both in terms of arms and security guarantees. "You can't come to us empty-handed today, and we are expecting not just presents or some kind of cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons," he said.

The visit would be the first by senior U.S. officials since Russia invaded Ukraine 60 days ago. Blinken stepped briefly onto Ukrainian soil in March to meet with the country's foreign minister during a visit to Poland. Zelensky's last face-to-face meeting with a U.S. leader was Feb. 19 in Munich with Vice President Kamala Harris.

While Ukraine's Western supporters have funneled military equipment to Ukraine, Zelensky has stressed repeatedly that the country needs more heavy weapons, including long-range air defense systems, as well as warplanes to fend off Russia.

His meeting with Austin and Blinken was set to take place as Ukrainians and Russians observed Orthodox Easter, when the faithful celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Speaking from Kiev's ancient St. Sophia Cathedral, Zelensky, who is Jewish, highlighted the allegorical significance of the occasion to a nation wracked by nearly two...

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