A US newspaper has reported that CIA Director William Burns recently traveled in secret to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that a US official and other sources told the paper that the meeting took place in the capital Kyiv at the end of last week.

Burns reportedly acknowledged that US assistance for Ukraine would be harder to come by. The paper points out the Republicans have gained control of the House of Representatives, some of whom favor slashing US spending on war efforts.

Zelenskyy and his aides reportedly came away from the meeting with the impression that although support from US President Joe Biden's administration remains strong, the prospects of Congress passing another multibillion-dollar supplemental assistance package are less certain.

CNN also reported that a US official and other sources say Burns briefed Zelenskyy in Kyiv last week on US expectations for Russia's battlefield planning in the spring.