Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office, were in Washington yesterday for a series of meetings with Trump administration officials, to discuss a range of pressing issues from military aid to economic recovery, to Russia sanctions, reported the Kyiv Post. The visit was designed to capitalize on the publicity around Kiev’s drone attack on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, by trying to get more money and weapons from the U.S.
“We need a ceasefire—we have fully supported the U.S. proposal on this since March,” Yermak said Tuesday afternoon in a social media post, following their talks with Trump special envoy for Russia Steve Witkoff, adding that Kyiv was ready for a leaders’ meeting, which Moscow continues to avoid. “Russia’s position remains unconstructive,” Yermak claimed. “Only strong sanctions can compel Russia to engage in serious negotiations.”
The delegation also met separately with President Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg at the State Department. “We discussed the situation on the front line, the outcomes of the meetings in Istanbul, [and] the importance of strengthening sanctions against Russia,”
Politico reported late yesterday that Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) had organized a meeting on Capitol Hill for the Ukrainian delegation to which all 100 senators were invited. “It’s a pivotal moment in Ukraine—and crunch time for the Senate on this bill,” Blumenthal said, noting that the sweeping sanctions legislation aimed at Russia now has 82 co-sponsors, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.
