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.
"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.
Geert Wilders speaks to the press in the Hague on Feb. 14, 2024. (Sem van der Wal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
The incoming Dutch government led by Geert Wilders' far-right PVV party has reaffirmed support for Ukraine "politically, militarily, financially, and morally against Russian aggression," it said in a statement on May 16.
The Netherlands held an election in November 2023, which saw the PVV emerge as the largest force in parliament with 37 seats.
Not enough to take power alone, weeks of negotiations were finally resolved this week with the announcement of an uneasy four-party coalition described as a "business government" arrangement.
The four parties – PVV, the center-right VVD and NSC, and the agrarian and right-populist BBB – released a statement on May 16 setting out the coalition government's policy on a range of issues, including foreign policy and Ukraine.
"Political and military cooperation with NATO is paramount for our international security," the statement reads.
"The Netherlands continues to support Ukraine politically, militarily, financially, and morally against Russian aggression.
"The Netherlands continues to participate in increasing NATO capacity on the territory of NATO member states and in international missions."
The country's next prime minister is yet to be confirmed but it will not be Wilders.
Under the outgoing prime minister, Mark Rutte, the Netherlands has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and one of the few partners to pledge F-16 fighter jets.
While denouncing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the PVV voiced opposition to sending financial support and fighter jets to Kyiv in the past, preferring them to be used for domestic needs.
Wilders himself has said he is against the Netherlands signing a 10-year agreement on security cooperation with Ukraine and railed against Ukrainian refugees, saying on Feb. 19 that they are coming to the Netherlands for "free housing, free healthcare, and our jobs."
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Abbey Fenbert
