WASHINGTON, D.C. - Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s Prime Minister, wrapped up a trip to the US. He’s here looking to bring in economic support and recovery to Ukraine as well as advocate for congressional aid for Ukraine. 

He spent time in Chicago where there’s a large Ukrainian population and in our nation’s capital. Shmyhal's visit comes at a time where all eyes are on congress where roughly 60-billion dollars of aid to Ukraine will stand one of it’s biggest tests.  

“We are grateful for American politicians who understand that supporting Ukraine is an investment in global security,” said Shmyhal.  

Shmyhal stressed they desperately need all the help they can get, especially with air defense.  

“Russians are destroying our civilian infrastructure and killing our people, our children, our civilians,” said Shmyhal. “They destroy civilian energy infrastructure and for this we ask for supplying air defense missiles, air defense systems, we ask for another Patriot [air defense weapon]. The Patriot is the best air equipment for defense. “We ask to protect our cities and our civilian infrastructure.” 

The two plus years of war with Russia have devastated communities and critical infrastructure sites for civilians. Shmyhal hopes his visit can build connections with American companies, so they can help rebuild their home.   

“We are launching a new initiative of American cities, states, and communities can help with the reconstruction of specific communities in Ukraine,” announced Shmyhal. “They can take patronage over them. We want to build an extremely close connection with communities in the US and communities in Ukraine.” 

The meetings with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also focused on investing in Ukraine's economy.