Ukraine has been upgraded to Tier 2 in the 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report, the Ukrainian Embassy to the United States said on its Facebook page late on Thursday.

"For four consecutive years, our country was in the Tier 2 Watchlist with a risk of downgrade to Tier 3 - The governments of countries that do not fully meet the TVPA’s [Trafficking Victims Protection Act] minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so," the embassy said.

"Coordinated and persistent hard work of many Government agencies involved in combating human trafficking resulted in promotion of our country in the TIP Report. We very much appreciate that our U.S. partners recognized these efforts. At the same time – Tier 1 and meeting its criteria remains our top priority in this domain," the embassy said.