TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kira Rudik, Ukraine Parliamentarian and leader of Ukraine’s Holos Party, said on Monday (Jan. 23) she would visit Taiwan this year to advance the goal of setting up a representative office in the country.

Expected in the spring, the trip will be her second one to Taiwan, as the Ukrainian lawmaker advocates closer ties between the two sides. The plan to establish an office may not materialize soon though, but progress will be made, she told CNA.

Rudik said it is important to let the people know about the support and aid Taiwan has committed to the war-battered country. Her party members will continue communicating with the public and local governments about Taiwan’s help through social media and TV exposure and she will address the parliament on the issue next week.

The lawmaker visited the legislature and met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during her trip in October as Tsai vowed determination to stand with Ukraine and Lithuania against authoritarian expansion.

With Ukraine under sustained Russian attacks on its power grid, Taiwan in December donated US$1 million and pledged another US$2 million this month for Kyiv to procure power-generating equipment. Generators supplied by Taiwan are also arriving in Ukraine, which drew the ire of the Chinese embassy, according to Rudik.

Smoke billows from a power infrastructure following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP photo)