With Kyiv at a critical juncture in its struggle against Russia, Blinken has said he wants to hear directly from Zelenskiy and others what Kyiv's goals in the war are and what Washington can do to help it achieve them.
Zelenskiy has been pleading with Kyiv's allies for months to allow Ukraine to fire Western missiles including long-range U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadows deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow's ability to launch attacks.
Asked if he was "optimistic" about a breakthrough on the matter during Blinken's visit, Zelenskiy quipped it depended instead on the "optimism" of Ukraine's partners.
"Let's count on some strong decisions at least. For us it's very important for today," he told reporters at the annual Crimean Platform event in Kyiv.
An air raid alert sounded in the Ukrainian capital early on Wednesday evening with the senior Western officials expected to give a news conference later. A wreath-laying ceremony they were due to attend was cancelled.
The alert remained in place in Kyiv for about 30 minutes after the air force warned of a ballistic missile travelling towards the region of Poltava to the east of Kyiv.
Blinken and Lammy are expected to push Ukraine for more information on its strategic aims as they consider whether to give the go-ahead, according to Western sources.
There is nervousness in Washington and some European capitals that doing so would provoke Russia towards a direct conflict with the West, while officials also recognise that Ukraine needs more help if it is to swing the war in its favour.
Overnight, U.S. President Joe Biden suggested that there was room for compromise.
Biden said his administration was "working that out now" when asked if the United States would lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons in its war against Russia.
The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that Moscow would consider the United States and its allies to be parties to the war if they allowed Kyiv to use long-range weapons to strike deep in Russia.
Blinken has declined to say whether Washington would give permission, but said multiple factors went into any decision.
"It's not just the system itself that counts. You have to ask: Can the Ukrainians effectively use it, and sometimes that requires significant training, which we've done. Do they have the ability to maintain it?" Blinken said.
Lammy said Britain would provide a further 600 million pounds ($781 million) of support for Ukraine. The funding, he said, would provide "vital support to Ukrainians as they continue to endure relentless Russian attacks."
BATTLEFIELD PRESSURES
On the battlefield more than 2-1/2 years since the invasion began, Ukrainian forces are being stretched by a better armed and bigger foe, as they try to fend off Russian gains in the east where Moscow is focusing its attacks.
In a bid to seize back some of the initiative and divert Russian forces, Kyiv last month sent troops into Russia's Kursk region in an audacious large-scale cross-border incursion.
After making rapid progress initially, Ukrainian advances have stalled, and on Wednesday a senior Russian commander said his forces had taken back control of about 10 settlements.
Ukraine has not commented on the latest Russian reported gains and Reuters was not able to independently verify battlefield developments.
The economic damage from the Kursk incursion totals at least $931 million, regional governor Alexei Smirnov said on Wednesday. More than 150,000 people have been evacuated since the start of Ukraine's attack, he added.
Blinken's visit to Kyiv comes a day after he said Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and will likely use them in Ukraine within weeks, warning that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatens wider European security.
Russia and Iran both deny Blinken's assertion.
The deepening military cooperation between Iran and Russia is a threat for all of Europe, Blinken said, adding that Washington had privately warned Iran that providing ballistic missiles to Russia would mark "a dramatic escalation".
The U.S. imposed fresh sanctions on Iran on Tuesday over the alleged transfer.
Thousands of civilians have died in the war, which Russia started with a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February 2022. Millions of Ukrainians have also been displaced, while many cities and villages have become piles of rubble.
Russia has escalated its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, while Ukraine has also sent hundreds of long-range attack drones deep into Russian territory.
Later this month, Zelenskiy travels to the United States and will present a plan to Biden and his two potential successors in November's presidential election that he hopes will bring the end of the war closer.
Reuters
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