Kyiv signals US support

Ukraine’s prime minister said she left Washington more confident that the United States still backs Ukraine after talks with senior U.S. officials. (usnews.com) Yuliia Svyrydenko told Reuters on April 16 that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was “supportive” in a meeting during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. She said she used the talks to argue that sanctions on Russia should not be weakened, waived or delayed. (usnews.com) Her Washington trip also focused on the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which Ukrainian officials said approved its first investment in March and has more than 200 applications under review. Kyiv said the next projects under discussion include energy, critical minerals, infrastructure and dual-use technology. (kmu.gov.ua) The message from Kyiv comes as Ukraine tries to show that U.S. ties still extend beyond weapons to sanctions, lending and reconstruction planning. Svyrydenko said Ukraine wants any end to the war to include security guarantees and a recovery plan, not only a ceasefire. (usnews.com) It also comes during a week when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted fresh security and industrial deals with European partners, including Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. Ukraine’s public line has been to pair battlefield urgency with evidence that outside backing is still moving. (president.gov.ua) In Washington, Svyrydenko also met Ben Black, the chief executive of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, to discuss expanding the reconstruction fund and using war-risk insurance tools for private investors. Ukraine said the two sides also discussed Naftogaz projects and restoring oil and gas equipment damaged by Russian attacks. (kmu.gov.ua) A bipartisan group of U.S. senators separately hosted Svyrydenko on April 15, according to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin and Roger Wicker among those listed. The committee said the meeting came after a deadly Russian attack and centered on continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and security. (foreign.senate.gov) Congressional backing and administration policy are not the same thing, but Kyiv has been leaning on both. Senate Democrats and Republicans have continued to issue statements backing Ukraine, including a February resolution marking four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion. (foreign.senate.gov) Svyrydenko’s public comments were narrow: she did not announce a new U.S. aid package or a new peace framework. She said the trip left her more assured that key American counterparts still see sanctions, reconstruction finance and long-term support as part of the same file. (usnews.com)