 Top US diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Kiev on September 6 in a gesture of support as Ukraine's counter-offensive 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 $1 billion, a senior State Department official said in a briefing for reporters on the trip. Blinken, on the first trip to Kiev by a top US official since the Ukrainian counter-offensive began, is expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and foreign minister Dmitry Koleba, among other senior officials, as well as civil society figures, the official said.