A Ukrainian delegation led by Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko will travel to the United States next week. It will include the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, and the representative for sanctions policy, Vlasyuk.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this at a meeting with journalists on 8 October. He outlined the main topics that Kyiv hopes to raise in negotiations with the Americans.
“The topics are: air defence, energy, sanctions measures, and the negotiation track. The issue of frozen assets in the United States will also be discussed,” he said.
The president noted that the Foreign Intelligence Service had reported that Moscow and Washington did not share a common vision of the war. The United States understands that Russia is lying. Zelenskyy is convinced that this understanding is vital for the future, for sustaining the support of Ukraine’s partners, and for ending the war in general.
At the same time, preparations are under way for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing this autumn. The production of artillery ammunition is also being developed in cooperation with the European Union. The aim is to bring production capacity up to par with Russia’s. Zelenskyy said that if partners accelerated their efforts, Ukraine could eventually surpass its enemy in artillery strength.
Sanctions will be imposed on Russia’s tanker fleet. In addition to profiting from oil, Moscow uses these vessels for espionage. The Foreign Intelligence Service provided France with intelligence about the departure of the tanker Boracay from Primorsk, captained by a Chinese national. When the tanker was stopped, it was discovered that Russian special service officers were on board. However, the vessel was released after three days. According to Ukraine, there are more than 500 such tankers. Among other uses, Russia employs them to launch drones.