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.
Sergei Surovikin, deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, at a meeting of Russian President with top military officials in Sochi on Nov. 3, 2021. (Photo by Mikhail Metzel/ AFP via Getty Images)
Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been arrested, the Moscow Times wrote on June 28, citing its sources in Russia's Defense Ministry.
One of the outlet's sources claims that Surovikin has been detained in relation to the rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group.
"Apparently, he (Surovikin) chose Prigozhin's side during the uprising, and they got ahold of him," the Moscow Times cited its sources, adding that the general's current whereabouts are unknown.
Surovikin was the top commander of Russian forces in Ukraine until he was replaced by Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov in January 2023.
Prigozhin has a long-standing feud with Gerasimov and much of Russia's military leadership. The mercenary boss called Russia's chief of staff incompetent and has resisted the government's attempts to incorporating Wagner into the regular armed forces.
Prigozhin even named the military's attempt to "dissolve" his company as the main reason for his rebellion. According to the Wall Street Journal, the oligarch intended to capture both Gerasmiov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The Moscow Times noted that Russian military blogger Vladimir Romanov first spread the rumors of Surovikin's arrest on June 25.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the arrest.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claim.
Earlier on June 28, The New York Times reported that Surovikin, formerly a top commander in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was aware of Prigozhin's rebellion in advance. CNN later wrote that other figures in Russian military and intelligence cadres may have been aware of the upcoming uprising.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, the rebellion highlighted weaknesses in Putin's leadership and exposed how unprepared Russia's Defense Ministry is for an attack.
The Wagner Group's founder launched an armed rebellion against the Russian government on June 23. His mercenaries occupied the city of Rostov and marched to within 200 km of Moscow, only to abruptly end the insurrection less than 24 hours later on June 24.
After a deal between the Kremlin and Prigozhin, allegedly brokered by Belarus' dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko, Russian officials said that the Wagner founder and his contract soldiers would be allowed to leave for Belarus.
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.
Francis Farrell
