Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised what he called Ukraine’s “extraordinary resilience” against Russian aggression during a visit to Chernigiv region Thursday, before the top diplomat concluded his surprise two-day trip.
During the visit Blinken went to see a school basement in Yagidne, where Russian troops kept dozens of villagers including elderly people and children captive.
“This is just one building…(but) this is a story we’ve seen again and again,” Blinken said.
“But we are also seeing something else that’s incredibly powerful…the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people.”
Russian forces seized parts of Chernigiv region, including Yagidne, soon after the war started.
They withdrew after about a month, and Yagidne was recaptured by Ukrainian forces on March 30, 2022, but the Russian army left towns destroyed and land heavily mined.
Blinken said up to a third of Ukraine’s territory was now dealing with mines or unexploded ordnance.
“But Ukrainians are coming together to get rid of the ordnance, to get rid of the mines, and to literally recover the land,” Blinken said.
Blinken later visited a hydroelectric dam alongside Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, before leaving Kyiv in the early evening.
