WASHINGTON, DC – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Tuesday to reaffirm Washington’s “unwavering support” for Kyiv as both sides sought to tighten the economic screws on Russia.
The high-level talks in Washington, which come ahead of an upcoming visit by President Volodymyr Zelensky, focused on deepening economic cooperation, particularly the newly operational US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
The meeting also served as a launchpad for a joint campaign to press European allies to close the sanctions loophole allowing the purchase of Russian oil.
The high-level Ukrainian delegation’s visit initiates an intense week of Kyiv’s diplomacy in the capital that is overshadowed by a potential military escalation: the prospect of Washington supplying Kyiv with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
“Unwavering” support from Washington
According to the Treasury Department, Bessent reaffirmed Washington’s “unwavering support for Ukrainian sovereignty” and its commitment to a “lasting, durable peace.” He also used the meeting to deliver a pointed message to European partners.
Bessent “reiterated the US commitment to working with G7 partners to significantly escalate pressure on Russia,” the readout stated, specifically stressing the need for European allies to “ratchet up their pressure campaign not only against Russia, but also against any country that finances the Russian war machine through purchases of Russian oil.”
Svyrydenko echoed the urgency in a social media post. She confirmed that the recently operational US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund – which she championed – was moving forward, focused on projects in critical minerals, energy, and infrastructure.
“Russia must be deprived of every lever of influence over our partners and every remaining source of revenue that sustains its war,” she wrote, signaling that the pressure on Russian oil remains Kyiv’s top financial priority.
She also appreciated Bessent’s commitment to “block all channels that continue to finance Russia’s war through its oil trade.”
Tightening the screws
The coordinated messaging from Washington and Kyiv was swiftly hailed by analysts who say a decisive shift in US policy may be imminent.
Shelby Magid, Deputy Director at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, told Kyiv Post that Bessent’s push on sanctions was “right on point.”
“The Secretary is absolutely right that we must keep tightening the screws on Moscow’s war financing,” Magid emphasized.
She characterized the meetings as “strong start to a week of intense diplomacy by the Ukrainian side.”
Magid connected the current diplomatic momentum directly to shifting priorities in the White House.
The talks, she said, are “especially timely as [President] Trump shifts his focus from peace in the Middle East to ending Russia’s war.”
“Trump likes gaining momentum, and this is the right moment to back Ukraine in pushing harder against Russia. He increasingly appears ready to do so, and the signs from both Bessent and the Prime Minister make that outcome look even more likely,” she said.
Trump’s Tomahawk ultimatum
That high-level focus in Washington has been directly tied to an extraordinary ultimatum from the White House to the Kremlin: end the war, or Ukraine gets a game-changing missile system.
Speaking Tuesday, Trump publicly warned Russia that the war must end.
“I had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin, but he just doesn’t want to end that war, and I think it’s making him look very bad,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding, Putin “could end it... he could end it quickly.”
The urgency for Ukraine to acquire long-range capabilities was underscored by a massive Russian strike on a hospital in Kharkiv that injured nearly 60 people.
President Zelensky is due to meet with Trump on Friday to discuss the possibility of receiving US-produced Tomahawk missiles.
Zelensky said the focus of his visit would be “air defense and long-range capabilities aimed at exerting pressure on Russia for the sake of peace.”
Trump has made it clear he is using the prospect of the missiles – which have a range of 1,550 miles (2,500km) and could strike anywhere in European Russia – as a strategic lever.
The stark warning, combined with the Treasury Department’s focus on economic pressure and Ukraine’s reconstruction progress, all suggest a newly coordinated, hard-line approach is emerging from Washington.
“It’s encouraging to see the US working with G7 allies with the goal of turning up the pressure on Russia,” Magid told Kyiv Post, concluding with an explicit challenge: “Now it is time for [Trump] to announce Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine!”