President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he had met the US CIA director William Burns in Ukraine, a rare public disclosure of a meeting between the pair amid Russia’s invasion.
The United States has been Ukraine’s most important financial and military backer in the almost three years since Moscow invaded, and Washington is also reported to have routinely shared military intelligence with Ukraine to support its defense.
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Zelensky said he had met CIA director Burns on multiple occasions throughout the war, but their meetings had been undisclosed.
“Bill Burns paid his last visit to Ukraine as CIA Director,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.
“He and I have had many meetings during this war, and I am grateful for his help,” he added.
“Usually, such meetings are not publicly reported, and all our meetings – in Ukraine, in other European countries, in America, and in other parts of the world – were held without official information,” Zelensky said.
Burns is set to leave the powerful post of CIA chief as US President-elect Donald Trump brings in his own candidate.
The last confirmed meeting between Zelensky and Burns was in mid-2023, according to US officials who announced in July 2023 that Burns had paid a recent secret trip to Ukraine.
Zelensky on Saturday posted a photo of him shaking hands with Burns in front of a state crest of Ukraine. He did not say when the meeting took place, but said it would be the pair’s final before Burns leaves the post.
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The meeting comes at a critical time in the war, one month before Trump comes to power.
The Republican has pledged to end the war in a matter of hours, stoking fears Kyiv could be forced to accept peace on terms favourable to Moscow.
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