Durbin Meets with Top Ukrainian Officials, U.S. Ambassador Pyatt

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with top Ukrainian ministers and U.S. lawmakers at the Capitol to continue discussions on the situation in Ukraine. These discussions come amid reports of ongoing Russian-backed military buildups in Eastern Ukraine and concerns that Russian President Putin will continue to fail to comply with the Minsk agreement and sanction further aggression in the region. Durbin also met privately with America’s Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt for an update on U.S. efforts in the country.

“Ukraine is at a critical moment in its history,” said Durbin. “As Russia continues its aggression, the United States can and should to be doing more to ensure Ukraine can defend its borders. At this morning’s meeting, Ukrainian officials made it clear that increased military assistance and economic support will help Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and sovereignty. It is also disturbingly clear that Putin is failing to abide by key provisions of the Minsk agreement, including returning control of Ukraine’s border, pulling back heavy weapons, the return of prisoners, and allowing Ukrainian elections to proceed free from Russian interference.”

Ukrainian officials attending this morning’s bicameral Ukraine Caucus meeting included:

Minister of Finance Natalie Jaresko

Minister of Agriculture Oleksiy Pavlenko

Minister of Infrastructure Andriy Pyvovarsky

Minister of Energy Volodymyr Demchyshyn

Chairman of National Oil and Gas Company (Naftogaz Ukraine) Andriy Kobolev

Head of Fiscal Service Reform Roman Nasirov

Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Dmytro Shymkiv

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