WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday that he "absolutely" expected the United States would eventually re-open its embassy in Ukraine, but stopped short of predicting when that would happen.

       "It will happen, absolutely, but we will wait," Shmyhal told reporters at a conclusion of a visit to Washington, when asked whether he had received assurances from the United States that it would re-open its embassy.

       Britain announced on Friday it would reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv next week, joining other European countries that have announced such plans after Russian forces withdrew from the country's north in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance.

       (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Kim Coghill)