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.
The body of a Russian soldier in a ditch beside the highway leading into Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, on Sept. 14, 2022, shortly after the territory was liberated by Ukraine's forces. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin/The Kyiv Independent)
Through open source research, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 42,284 Russian soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since Mediazona's last updateon Dec. 29, the names of 1,685 Russian soldiers have been added to the list of casualties.
The journalists specify that the actual figures are likely considerably higher since the information they have verified so far comes from public sources, including obituaries, posts by relatives, news in regional media, and reports by local authorities.
Among the Russian casualties in the most recent update, Mediazona confirmed the names of four military personnel who were killed by a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk on Dec. 26. The attacked allegedly killed 74 and injured 27 Russian soldiers, according to a Ukrainian hacker group that claimed it had intercepted an email from the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s press service.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion began, over 3,000 officers, with 349 holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel or higher have been killed in combat in Ukraine. In contrast, there have been nearly 5,089 casualties among newly recruited Russian soldiers.
A majority of those killed in action come from Krasnodar, Sverdlovsk, Bashkiria, Chelyabinsk, and Moscow regions, as well as the Buryatia republic.
Total estimates of Russia's casualties since the full-scale invasion vary widely.
As of Jan. 21, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces says that Russia lost 376,030 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022 - although that number is likely to be both those killed an injured during the war.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
