Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for inviting him to pay an official visit to Washington.

According to the press service of the Ukrainian president, Zelensky also stressed that the draft law on strengthening support for Ukraine, which was presented in the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress, is an important signal of a strong strategic partnership between the two countries.

"Thanks to the United States of America for the consistent support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine," the Ukrainian president said.

The report notes that the bill to provide support to Ukraine to defend its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity is aimed at strengthening the defense capability of the Ukrainian state, in particular by transferring weapons, selling lethal weapons to Ukraine's Armed Forces, and strengthening Ukraine's ability to resist Russian cyberattacks.

The list of weapons that can be transferred to Ukraine is complemented by anti-tank, anti-ship and anti-aircraft systems. The document also provides for granting the status of the main U.S. military-political ally to the Ukrainian state.

The Ukrainian Embassy in the U.S. said on Facebook that such a status would be valid for a period from the day the bill comes into force until the country joins NATO. It could also be used to facilitate the procedure of handing over defensive weapons to Ukraine, the embassy said.

Under the bill, the U.S. policy should involve support for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, integration into NATO and the European Union, its people's right to freely decide their future and make independent and sovereign decisions on foreign and security policies, including relationships with other countries and international organizations without interference, intimidation or pressure by other countries, Ukraine's right to defend itself from the Russian aggression using U.S. military aid, promote democratic values in Ukraine, including by strengthening the rule of law, transparency and accountability in the public sector and combatting corruption.

The U.S. policy should also denounce any territorial changes to Ukraine through the use of force such as Russia's illegal invasion and occupation of Crimea and Donbas, condemn the continued detention in Russia of the 24 crew members from Ukrainian warships, who were captured near the Kerch Strait in November 2018, urge Russia to implement the Minsk agreements in full, and support the deployment of international security mechanisms in Donbas.

The bill is a new important step aimed at deepening the U.S.-Ukrainian strategic partnership in countering the Russian aggression, the Ukrainian embassy said.