CIA Director William Burns recently visited Ukraine, where he met with intelligence officials and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, a US official confirmed on Friday, France Presse reported on Saturday.

The visit, which was not made public at the time, came as Ukrainian forces continued their counteroffensive launched in June in the country’s east and south against Russian forces.

On this occasion, Burns reaffirmed “the American commitment to share information to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

According to the American newspaper The Washington Post, which was the first to report on this trip, Ukrainian leaders presented plans to return territories occupied by Russian troops and begin negotiations on a ceasefire by the end of the year.

The move took place in June, the publication adds.

According to the American official, Burns “went to Ukraine, as he has done regularly since the beginning of the recent Russian aggression more than a year ago.”

The trip came ahead of a 24-hour mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, on June 24, the official said. According to him, the uprising, which is considered the biggest threat to the power of the Kremlin in recent decades, “was not a topic for discussion.”

The United States tried to make it clear to Russia that it had no role to play in the insurgency.

Most US media reported on Friday that after the uprising, Burns called the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (FSI), Sergei Naryshkin, to assure him that the United States was not involved. (Agerpress)