Antony Blinken

The additional aid includes $50 million in emergency refugee and migration funds and $50 million in humanitarian assistance, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The meeting is the highest level of contact between the two nations since the discovery of a Chinese balloon in U.S. airspace at the beginning of this month.

The two diplomats will meet for the first time in the aftermath of the balloon crisis earlier this month.

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to Secretary of State Antony Blinken about U.S.-China tensions, the earthquake aftermath in Turkey and Syria and the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called off his trip to China after the discovery of a Chinese "surveillance" balloon over the U.S. It's the latest setback in an increasingly fraught relationship.

China's foreign ministry described the balloon as "a civilian airship" for meteorological research that had blown far off course by winds. The Pentagon suspects it's collecting sensitive information.

Antony Blinken is on a trip to Kyiv, where he visited a children's hospital and met with U.S. Embassy staff. The U.S. announced nearly $3 billion in aid and weapons for Ukraine and other countries.

It is important that the Ukrainians define the terms of any potential negotiation, Blinken tells NPR, while the U.S. makes sure that the country has the means to repel Russian aggression.

The U.S. secretary of state will meet with NATO and G-7 members to talk punitive measures following reports of Russian war crimes against Ukraine.

Among the demands from Russia was a guarantee that Ukraine be permanently barred from NATO membership. That would violate a U.S. "core principle," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.