Top US diplomat Antony Blinken has arrived in Kyiv in a gesture of support as Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces grinds into its fourth month with only small gains.

During his two-day visit, staying overnight in Ukraine for the first time since before Russia’s February 2022 invasion, Blinken will likely announce a new package of US assistance worth more than $1bn, a senior State Department official said in a briefing for reporters on the trip.

Blinken, on the first trip to Kyiv by a top US official since the Ukrainian counteroffensive began, is expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba among other senior officials as well as civil society figures, the official said.