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.
"The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much," U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on May 7, according to Politico.
EU ambassadors began talks this week on a 17th sanctions package that targets Russia’s military-industrial complex, Moscow’s shadow shipping fleet, and related support networks.
The U.S. House of Representatives and Capitol Dome on May 28, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
Republican Party leaders in the U.S. Congress consider cutting Ukraine support from their long-term defense spending bill to satisfy hardliners and unlock the gridlock, CNN reported on Sept. 21, citing two undisclosed sources.
The procedural vote failed to pass earlier today in the House of Representatives because of the hardliners' opposition to $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the news outlet said.
The U.S. has funded aid through this initiative since the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014.
According to CNN, the bill specifies that the assistance can be used for training, equipment, lethal assistance, logistics support, supplies, services, salaries, stipends sustainment, and intel. Several other countries are reportedly included as beneficiaries as well.
As the news outlet commented, it is unclear whether cutting Ukraine spending from the bill would pass through Republican Party moderates and defense hawks.
The discussion over the bill is taking place just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington D.C. to meet with senior Congress members, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and President Joe Biden.
The U.S. president is hoping to secure Congress' approval for another bill that would release an additional $24 billion in funding for Ukraine. This proposition is also facing opposition from the right flank of the Republican Party.
Washington is leading the allied effort in support of Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression. However, the growing opposition from the hardline elements of the Republican Party put the future of this support into doubt.
The U.S. is heading for the next presidential election in 2024, and several leading Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, have criticized Biden for devoting too much attention and resources to Ukraine.
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.
Martin Fornusek
