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.
The Atesh partisan group claims it disabled communication at several Russian military facilities when it allegedly destroyed equipment at a transformer substation in the village of Mogiltsy in Russia's Moscow Oblast.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meet at the Pentagon on April 12, 2023. (Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal / Telegram)
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Kyiv's allies during the 17th Ramstein-format meeting on Nov. 22 to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses ahead of the coming winter months.
Austin, who visited Kyiv earlier this week, opened the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) in a virtual format with the participation of around 50 countries.
" We're focused on supporting Ukraine as it continues to fight through this winter and defend its critical infrastructure," Austin said, adding that both the U.S. and Germany recently announced new defense aid packages.
"We've already organized coalitions focused on building up Ukraine's Air Force and its information technology capabilities, and today we'll discuss the progress that's been made since our last meeting in developing a new capability Coalition on ground-based air defense," he added.
Ukrainian officials warned that Russia is preparing large-scale attacks on the country's infrastructure once the temperatures drop. For that reason, Kyiv appealed to its partners to provide further air defenses to repel these strikes.
Russia launched a mass wave of attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the fall and winter of 2022-2023, causing regular blackouts.
The 17th Ramstein-format meeting was announced by Washington earlier in November. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that the U.S. support for Ukraine continues even though the packages are growing smaller. Congress is yet to approve the $61 billion in additional funding for Ukraine proposed by the White House.
According to Austin, the UDCG's members have already provided Ukraine with over $80 billion in security assistance since early 2022.
Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said at the meeting that Russia would not stop its aggression on its own: "The only language that Moscow understands is force. We have learned this language well."
He stressed that further support from allies would help Ukraine protect millions of innocent lives.
"Our people are waiting for the opportunity to return home. Rebuild their homes. To be reunited with their families," Umerov added.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Alexander Query
