Kuleba, Blinken discuss further strengthening Ukraine

The Ukrainian minister wrote about this on his Twitter account, Ukrinform reports.

In particular, Kuleba wrote that Blinken informed him on “the takeaways of his call with Russian foreign minister”.

“We agreed to further strengthen Ukraine militarily and economically and focused on the next practical steps which will allow Ukraine to force Russian invasion into failure,” Kuleba wrote.

According to Blinken, he discussed several important issues with Lavrov, noting it was "a frank and direct conversation,” CNN reported.

"I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner," Blinken said. 

Blinken also said he also discussed the expectation that the deal to allow Ukrainian grain to transit safely through the Black Sea be allowed to enter into force.

He also stressed that the "world will not recognize annexations" and "will impose additional significant costs on Russia if it moves forward with its plans."

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