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.
John Kirby speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Biden administration says that the U.S. weaponry provided to Ukraine "is being used appropriately on the field of battle," John Kirby, a White House spokesperson for national security, told reporters on Jan. 3.
"We’ve seen no indication that there’s been some widescale corruption or misuse by the Ukrainian military," Kirby said.
The U.S. has provided approximately $44.2 billion in military assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and more than $47 billion in military assistance since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
In September, the U.S. sent personnel to Kyiv to evaluate the use of American military aid, according to the U.S. Defense Department Inspector General's Office report. The team has been working at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv on evaluation and oversight.
"We added expertise and individuals to the team in Kyiv specifically for accountability purposes. And the Ukrainians understand our need for accountability," Kirby explained. "They share that, and they have made it clear that they’re willing to work with us on accountability measures for all the systems that are being provided."
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
Dinara Khalilova
