Kyiv, Ukraine - Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Tuesday and pledged more US military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

American military aid for Ukraine is "on its way," Blinken said, as Russia pressed on with a new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

The trip comes just weeks after Congress finally approved a $61 billion financial aid package for Ukraine after months of political wrangling, unlocking much-needed arms for the country's stretched troops.

"In the near term, assistance is now on its way that and that will make a real difference against the Russian aggression," he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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Blinken arrived by overnight train from Poland on his fourth visit to Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Zelensky thanked Washington for the aid, saying: "The decision on the package was crucial for us."

He said the biggest deficit for Ukraine was air defense and asked for two Patriot batteries in the Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have been advancing and pounding villages along the border.

At a checkpoint outside the city of Kharkiv, an official said Russian forces had entered Ukraine through "villages on the very border which were complicated for us to defend."

"They are on high ground and are shelling us from there," said the official, Volodymyr Usov, head of the Kharkiv district military administration.

The White House said Monday it was doing "everything" possible to rush weapons to Ukraine.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters a new arms package would be announced "in the coming days."