Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze: ‘It is important to start training our fighter jets pilots right now’

The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU met with high-ranking officials in the US State Department and the Pentagon in Washington.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised the need for further supplies of weapons to Ukraine — from artillery shells, armoured vehicles, to air defence systems and long-range weapons. According to her, it is important to start training Ukrainian fighter jets pilots right now. All of this is possible thanks to the great support of the Congress. ‘Colleagues from the USA are working as hard as possible to fulfil the requests of the Ukrainian military so that they have all the tools necessary to protect the citizens of Ukraine and its infrastructure, as well as to liberate Ukrainian territories,’ said the Chair of the Committee.

During the meetings they also discussed the necessity of the future security guarantees for Ukraine after the victory and the end of the war. ‘Obviously, mechanisms for the reconstruction of the country should be established, which should definitely involve not only providing funds to Ukraine through the government, but also creating mechanisms for horizontal interaction with communities and cities in Ukraine that suffered from the horrors of this war. Work with private businesses from abroad to invest in Ukraine should be carried out now,’ said the Chair of the Committee.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze discussed with her American colleagues the restoration of the energy system and preparation for the next heating season: ‘Our neighbours will not calm down anyway. They have not given up on crushing us in various ways. It is good that our partners are aware that we have time until autumn to restore Ukrainian infrastructure to the possible extend, to make some arrangements that could also enable further development in accordance with our ambitions to join the Green deal of the European Union.’

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze informed that American colleagues pay serious attention to the adoption of laws and approximation of Ukrainian legislation according to the EU law. They very much count on the fact that Ukraine will continue to move towards synchronisation with European rules and procedures in all other directions, in particular in the energy sector. It is also expected that the crucial reform of corporate governance will continue in Ukraine. ‘The Americans are our allies in further increasing Ukraine's ability to import and/or export electricity from/to the European Union, according to needs,’ the Chair of the Committee said.