Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze in Washington: «Any bilateral guarantees must be defined and ratified by the US Senate.»
23 January 2026, 11:46
The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU, Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, together with colleagues from the United4Ukraine parliamentary network, met with congressmen from both the Democratic and Republican parties, including the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Brian Mast; co-chairs of the Ukrainian Caucus Marcia Kaptur and Joe Wilson; Congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. They also met with security advisors to the Vice President of the United States and representatives of the US National Security Council. We also spoke with the leadership of the International Republican Institute; the National Endowment for Democracy; the Victims of Communism Memorial; the Institute for the Study of War; and diplomats from EU countries.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze noted that there are currently several sanctions bills in the US Congress that could potentially be used to increase pressure on the russian federation. One of them has been given the green light by the US administration. At the same time, despite certain movements in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, it is currently unclear when and which bill will be passed, and whether this decision will become a real tool for exerting truly powerful pressure on russia. «Unfortunately, there is currently no willingness among the majority in Congress to discuss the allocation of direct military aid to Ukraine... At the same time, the United States continues to provide support that is important for Ukraine, in particular the provision of intelligence, coordination with other partners, logistical assistance and urgent energy support, which we continue to count on,» said the Committee Chair.
According to her, there are a significant number of political and public centres, individual politicians and organisations in the United States that clearly support Ukraine and are ready to continue working in this direction. «Maximising their voice, their arguments, facts and understanding of the situation must remain a priority for us,» Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze believes. In her opinion, this is important for conveying the understanding that russia is conducting a large-scale information and manipulation campaign, trying to convince the world of its own strength and seemingly inevitable victory. «In reality, thanks to the joint efforts of Ukraine, European allies and partners from the United States, we have reason to believe that russia is not as strong as it tries to portray itself. There is a real opportunity to inflict a strategic defeat on it, although at the executive level in the United States, unfortunately, this issue is not articulated as an immediate goal,» said the head of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU.
Separately, discussions continue on security guarantees for Ukraine within the framework of the negotiation process. «Our fundamental position is that any bilateral guarantees must be clearly defined and ratified by the US Senate. Otherwise, these are political, non-binding documents, which Ukraine, given its previous negative experience, should treat with the utmost caution,» said Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze.