PM Shmyhal arrives in Washington to meet with US officials, global financial institutions

This is stated on Denys Shmyhal's official Telegram channel and on the government's website.

“We are starting to work in the United States. Military, financial, sanctions support, investment attraction, and assistance in recovery. We will discuss all these issues with the US Secretaries of Defense, Treasury, Commerce, and Transportation, the leadership of the World Bank, IMF, USAID, EIB, and others. We look forward to new agreements,” he wrote on Telegram.

The government's website says that Denys Shmyhal will visit Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual Spring Meetings forum organized by the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

On the eve of his visit to the United States, Shmyhal gave a commentary to The Hill, where he said that the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive could begin in the summer.

The publication notes that Shmyhal's visit to Washington takes place amid a large-scale intelligence leak, which included assessments by the US Defense Department of the situation in Ukraine.

It also says that Shmyhal's mission to Washington is part of Ukraine's military strategy. While combat preparations are underway, the prime minister is tasked with rallying partner countries to provide economic support, which is as key to Ukraine's survival as its military defense.

The plane on which the Prime Minister is making the visit is also interesting. Shmyhal himself emphasized it twice, posting photos on social media. The official points out that the front exit shows a Ukrainian flag, a help emoji, and a military aircraft, which should mean that Ukraine is expecting modern fighter jets, including F-16s, as the next stage of assistance.

Aviation expert Vitalii Trubnykov identified the plane on which Shmyhal arrived in the United States:

“I was interested in this event because of the aircraft, namely the Boeing 737-800, because there are no such aircraft in the fleet of the state Ukraine airline, which transports officials.

It's not hard to guess that this is one of the airliners of the Ukrainian SkyUp Airlines with the registration number UR-SQO. According to the Flightradar24 database, the flight from Poland to Canada was refueled in Iceland.”

First of all, Shmyhal met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

“I thanked the United States and the Secretary personally for their strong military support, as well as their efforts to establish the Ukrainian Contact Group. We discussed Ukraine's urgent needs for the successful conduct of the next counteroffensive operation to liberate Ukrainian lands. We also discussed joint work on new capabilities for the future,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. 

He added that Ukraine needs more weapons for a quicker victory: air defense, heavy artillery and equipment, mortars and munitions. The prime minister also called on the United States to support the provision of longer-range missiles.

• On April 11, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal arrived in Canada on a working visit and met with his counterpart Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

• The state budget of Ukraine received 2.4 billion Canadian dollars (USD 1.8 billion) from Canada as part of a concessional loan. It is noted that the loan is provided for 10 years, and its interest rate reaches 1.5% per annum.

• Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said that Ukraine needs long-term security guarantees even after the victory, as Russia will remain its aggressive neighbor.

• Canada has announced additional military assistance to Ukraine, including the transfer of tens of thousands of assault rifles, machine guns and millions of rounds of ammunition.

• Ukraine and Canada also signed an updated and expanded Free Trade Agreement.