Live Updates: Russia-Ukraine War

The U.S. has deployed its international development chief to Ukraine on Thursday, the highest-ranking American official to visit the country since Russia illegally annexed the four regions

KYIV, Ukraine — The U.S. deployed its international development chief to Ukraine on Thursday, the highest-ranking American official to visit the country since Russia illegally annexed the four regions.

The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, traveled to Kyiv and was holding meetings with government officials and residents. She said the U.S. would provide an additional $55 million to repair heating pipes and other equipment.

Among the sites she visited were a Kyiv neighborhood and school that had previously been hit by Russian missiles.

USAID said the United States has delivered $9.89 billion in aid to Ukraine since February.

A spending bill signed by President Biden last week promises another $12.3 billion in Ukraine-related aid — directed both at military and public services needs. Power said Washington plans to release the first $4.5 billion of that funding in the coming weeks.

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KYIV, Ukraine — The head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog is expected to visit Kyiv this week to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since the early part of the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday declaring that Russia was taking over the six-reactor plant, the largest in Europe.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called it a criminal act and said it considered Putin’s decree “null and void.” The state nuclear operator, Energoatom, said it would continue to operate the plant.

Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to talk with Ukrainian officials about the Russian move.

He will also discuss efforts to set up a secure protection zone around the facility, which has been damaged in the fighting and seen staff including its director abducted by Russian troops.

Grossi will travel to Moscow for talks with Russian officials after his stop in Kyiv.