Washington’s involvement may also help mitigate political opposition in Europe, while giving the U.S. strategic visibility over future Russian energy flows, sources told Reuters.
The agreement, signed on April 30, establishes a joint investment fund between Kyiv and Washington and grants the U.S. special access to projects developing Ukraine's natural resources.
Ukraine is considering moving away from the U.S. dollar and closer to the euro as a benchmark for the hryvnia, National Bank Governor Andrii Pyshnyi told Reuters.
Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets gives an interview on March 24, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Around 1.5 million Ukrainian children who remain in occupied areas of Ukraine are at high risk of being deported to Russia, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Oct. 2.
Russia has already abducted more than 20,000 children since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lubinets said. Less than 400 of them have been returned home, according to the Children of War database.
Deported children have their personal data changed so that their relatives cannot find and bring them back home, the ombudsman added.
"Our children are even sent to so-called 're-education camps' where they are zombified with Russian propaganda. Just imagine: our children are forced to deny their Ukrainian origin," Lubinets said.
According to the Ombudsman's Office, those from children's homes in Kherson Oblast were first moved to the occupied territories and then deported to Russia. Kyiv also recorded cases of children being illegally adopted by Russian families.
"Russia deliberately slows down the process of returning our children," Lubinets said.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for their roles in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
The unlawful transfer or deportation of civilians to Russia violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and constitutes a war crime under international law.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
