Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told his Ukrainian counterpart that this progress — marked by Kiev Embassy charge d’affaires Kristina Kvien’s visit Sunday to commemorate V-E Day — is “a testament to Ukraine’s success [and] Moscow’s failure” in the early phase of Vladimir Putin’s war, the senior official told Axios. (https://www.axios.com/2022/05/08/biden-kyiv-embassy-reopen) It’s the culmination of a behind-the-scenes effort led by Blinken to have U.S. diplomats return to Kyiv at the earliest possible date after their evacuation in the weeks before Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. “The secretary relayed to his senior team and to [Ukrainian] Foreign Minister [Dmytro] Kuleba that our return to Kyiv is a testament to Ukraine’s success, Moscow’s failure and our effective and enduring partnership with the government and people of a sovereign, democratic and free Ukraine,” said the senior official.