PM Shmyhal, U.S. Treasury Secretary discuss weapons, finances, sanctions

"Weapons, finances, and sanctions. These are the main talking points of our visit to Washington. I discussed the issue of increasing financial support for Ukraine and the need to step up sanctions pressure on Russia with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen," Shmyhal posted on Telegram.

According to him, April will be a difficult month for the Ukrainian budget, and therefore Ukraine needs support from allies now. "$500 million allocated by the United States for the Ukrainian budget will definitely be a significant support," the Prime Minister noted.

Shmyhal and Yellen also discussed the issue of filling the U24 Recovery Fund created by the Government of Ukraine. "It will help accumulate funds to continue financing the Ukrainian army, all social obligations, economic recovery, and restoration of infrastructure," he said.

The second key raised at the Prime Minister's meeting with the U.S. Treasury Secretary was sanctions against Russia, the oil embargo, and the shutdown of the Russian banking system.

"Russian banks are looking for ways to circumvent the sanctions policy, so we agreed to jointly close any loopholes for them. Russia's banking system must be cut off from the world," Shmyhal stressed.

He added that the government officials emphasized at all meetings that Russia posed a threat not only to Ukraine but to the entire civilized world: "We all see how this aggressor state tries to provoke as many global crises as possible. Energy, food, migrant [crises]. That's why it's so important to unite around supporting Ukraine and help us win this war."

As reported, at the meeting in Washington on April 21, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the expansion of financial and military assistance for Ukraine, the strengthening of sanctions against Russia, and the consolidation of the international anti-Putin coalition.

On February 24, Russian president Putin declared war on Ukraine and launched a large-scale invasion.

Photo: Denys Shmyhal / Facebook