"I'm back in Ukraine, for the fourth time as defense minister, to show that the US and the international community continue to stand by Ukraine's side", Austin wrote on X under a photo of himself at the train station in the Ukrainian capital.
Austin brought with him a detailed list of support worth 400 million dollars to Ukraine's military.
In connection with a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, the American defense minister clarified what Kiev can expect in the support package equivalent to four billion kronor: ammunition, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons.
Austin also took the opportunity to hope for continued American support even after the presidential election in the US. However, he did not mention Zelenskyj's hope for Ukrainian membership in NATO or Kiev's plea to be allowed to strike targets deep into Russia.
Glide bombs over Charkiv
In Charkiv, residential buildings, gas stations, and high-voltage power lines have been hit in three different city districts, according to Mayor Ihor Terechov. The power supply has been disrupted in parts of the city.
At least twelve civilians, seven women and five men, were injured in the attack.
Russia carried out the attack with glide bombs, according to Ukraine's national police, which states that the bombs were seemingly randomly directed over the city and its population, and not at military targets.
Hit by shrapnel
In the city of Kryvyj Rih in central Ukraine, three people and several residential buildings were damaged in a rocket attack, according to Oleksander Vilkul, head of the local military.
Kiev was also attacked during the night. There, a man was injured in connection with downed drones crashing to the ground, according to the city's military leadership.
In the Belgorod region of Russia, a man was injured in a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the region's governor Vjatjeslav Gladkov.
