<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">A senior US official traveled Monday to Kyiv where she met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and assured him of Washington's "steadfast commitment" to Ukraine, the State Department said.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman led a delegation to the Ukrainian capital to discuss assistance to bolster Ukraine's security posture, improvements to its econony, and ways to develop an enduring bilateral trade partnership with the United States.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US group met with Zelensky, members of his presidential office, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and other senior Ukrainian officials, it said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The purpose of the visit is "to reaffirm the United States' strong and steadfast commitment to Ukraine and its defense against Russia's unprovoked aggression," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The delegation also "heard from young Ukrainians who have adapted their businesses and advocacy to support their fellow citizens even as they look ahead to Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sherman's visit came as clashes have ratcheted up in Ukraine in the 11th month of a bitter and deadly war, and as Moscow's forces stand accused of firing a missile that leveled part of a residential apartment bloc in the central city of Dnipro, killing at least 40 people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last month Zelensky visited President Joe Biden at the White House where he made the case for some $45 billion in emergency military and economic aid for Ukraine. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>