"Ukraine is more and more economically beneficial, so it is critical to give it political support instead of more financial aid or technical assistance." William Green Miller, the US Ambassador to Ukraine from 1993 to 1998

 Washington representatives believe no matter who wins the November presidential election in Ukraine, Kyiv will likely recover some of its status as a foreign policy priority.

"The importance of this European country (Ukraine) as a former Soviet state is a high priority as the war in Iraq dies down, as it will," proclaimed William Green Miller, the US Ambassador to Ukraine from 1993 to 1998.

"Ukraine is more and more economically beneficial, so it is critical to give it political support instead of more financial aid or technical assistance."

McCain chairs the International Republican Institute, a leading advocate of integration of Ukraine to the West.

McCain has also been the staunchest challenger to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, avidly criticizing his policy and even urging Russia's exclusion from the Group of Eight (G8), the world's greatest economic powers.

All three presidential candidates paid visit to Ukraine at least once. McCain had been to numerous times, most notably in August 2004 when he met with government and opposition presidential candidates.

Senator Hillary Clinton, has visited in 1995, 1997, and a third time in 2005 year, and Senator Barack Obama, has been here in 2005.

Clinton was accompanying her husband in the 1990's and was already supporting partnerships between hospitals in the United States and Ukraine, and airlifts of pharmaceuticals and other medical support.

In her second trip, she had been to the memorial ofvictims of Communist repressions in Lviv, where Clinton pronounced to people, "In your fight for freedom, your fight for democracy, the American will stand with you."

The New York senator was also the honorary chair of the 1996 Chornobyl Challenge and obtained the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund's Lifetime Humanitarian Achievement Award in 1999.

In her campaign statement on Ukraine, Clinton did not forget to court the potential one million UkrainianAmerican voters.

"I applaud the fact that Ukraine aspires to anchor itself directly and very strong in the transAtlantic community through membership in NATO and look forward to working with Ukrainians and UkrainianAmericans to reach that goal," she said.