By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s “extremely significant” visit to the United States on Wednesday will disprove Russian attempts to show that U.S.-Ukrainian relations are cooling, a presidential adviser said.
Political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters in written comments that Zelenskiy’s trip, including talks with President Joe Biden, provided an opportunity to explain the real situation in Ukraine, what weapons Kyiv needs to fight Russia, and why it needs them.
“Firstly, both the visit itself and the level of planned meetings unequivocally testify to the high degree of trust between the countries. Secondly, this finally puts an end to the attempts by the Russian side … to prove an allegedly growing cooling in our bilateral relations,” Podolyak said.
“This, of course, is not even close. The United States unequivocally supports Ukraine.”
He added: “In my opinion, the visit will undoubtedly activate and optimise key areas of military cooperation, further mobilise bipartisan political support and more clearly paint a picture of the future if the war is not ended correctly.”
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
