U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit on Monday to announce a further $1.25 Billion in aid to Ukraine.
Yellen met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, repeating Joe Biden’s assurances of more support.
“America will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes,” Yellen told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
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Speaking through an interpreter, Shmyhal said the two discussed further U.S. sanctions on Russia aimed at weakening its military and economy while “confiscating frozen Russian assets and putting them to the benefit of the recovery of Ukraine.”
However, Yellen said there were still significant legal obstacles to fully seizing Russian central bank assets frozen by sanctions worth $300 billion.
During her surprise visit, Yellen also announced transferring the first $1.25 billion to Ukraine from the latest, $9.9 billion from Washington.
The Treasury said she commended Zelenskiy “for his leadership and resolve in the face of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war.”
The news comes a week after Yellen announced the Biden administration would send an additional $10 billion in economic aid to Ukraine just days after Biden’s visit.
The total US economic and military aid sent to Ukraine has surpassed $115 billion to $200 billion.
“Providing economic assistance has made Ukraine’s resistance possible by supporting the home front, funding critical public services, and helping keep the government running,” Yellen said.
“In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine,” Yellen added.
“Putin himself thought he would achieve a victory at minimal cost… One year later, Putin’s war has been a strategic failure for the Kremlin. Ukraine still stands,” she said.
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