Ukraine's business-oriented prime minister appears well-suited to negotiate with President Donald Trump.
Yuliia Svyrydenko, who was appointed to her job by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July, visited New York in August to join some investors and ring the opening bell to mark the first American listing of a Ukrainian company, the telecom firm Kyivstar.
"Ukraine is not only about donations, but it's about business," said the 39-year-old Svyrydenko, using words that Trump certainly can understand, The New York Times reported.
During the early months of his second term, Trump complained that the U.S. had not received anything in return for the tens of billions of dollars it poured into Ukraine's war effort, mostly under former President Joe Biden.
Svyrydenko, who at the time was the economy minister, then negotiated a minerals deal with the Trump administration that has become the foundation for the new business-oriented relationship between the two countries.
She also worked to stabilize Ukraine's finances, securing billions in foreign aid and opening trade routes to avoid Russia's efforts to block the Black Sea.
Svyrydenko's appointment "was a message from Ukraine to the United States, to Trump," Mykola Davydiuk, a Kyiv-based political analyst, told the Times.
Matthew Murray, chair of the advisory board of a Ukrainian titanium company named Velta, said that Svyrydenko had "clearly become a very effective communicator with the Trump administration."
Svyrydenko, who had been Ukraine's economy minister and the key negotiator in the mineral deal with the U.S., was appointed prime minister July 17. She became the country's first new head of government since the start of Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion in 2022.
She is one of Ukraine's youngest prime ministers and only the second woman to hold the post.
Zelenskyy gave his new prime minister three priorities: bolster the economy, expand social programs and ramp up weapon production, the Times reported.
Svyrydenko's appointment came as Zelenskyy reshuffled his Cabinet in a bid to energize a war-weary nation and boost domestic weapons production in the face of Russia's invasion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.