US diplomats resuming limited activities in Ukraine

The U.S. hopes to reopen its embassy in Kyiv if the situation permits, its chargé d’affaires said Monday from Ukraine’s capital city.

“We listen to the security professionals, and when they tell us we can go back we will go back,” the official, Kristina Kvien, said during a press conference.

Kvien, who was visiting Kyiv on a day trip, said that diplomats would make day trips for the next week or two before coming back permanently. 

“We are thrilled to be back and will continue our efforts to do everything possible here on the ground to help Ukraine win this war.” 

The U.S. evacuated its embassy personnel and shut down the building nearly two weeks before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday and said the U.S. diplomats will initially make visits to Lviv this week with plans to return to Kyiv as soon as possible. 

The planned resumption of the American diplomatic mission follows a series of high-profile visits from U.S. officials. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) led a small delegation of lawmakers to Kyiv on Sunday, which followed a visit by Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to the capital city on April 24.