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.
Jailed Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko, 33, appears in court in St. Petersburg on Nov. 13, 2023. (Dmitry Lovetsky / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)
Over 200 Russian doctors signed an open letter Nov. 18 demanding imprisoned Russian anti-war artist Alexandra Skochilenko be released due to her declining health.
"Apart from our outrage over the obvious injustice of the verdict, we, as a medical community, are deeply concerned about Sasha's health," the letter said.
Skochilenko was sentenced to seven years in prison on Nov. 16 for "public dissemination of deliberately false information" about the Russian army. She replaced five price tags at a St. Petersburg grocery store with anti-war messages shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion.
In total, 247 medical professionals directed their letter to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, calling for the artist's immediate release. Skochilenko, 33, suffers from a heart condition and celiac disease, requiring specialized medical attention and dietary care.
While the letter defended Skochilenko's right to her "pacifist" views, the doctors did not address Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Skochilenko was convicted one month following the enactment of a Russian law that essentially criminalizes public anti-war expressions. The legislation has been used extensively amid a crackdown on dissenting figures, with numerous individuals facing prolonged prison sentences.
According to the organization OVD-Info, between the Feb. 24 invasion and October 2023, Russian authorities have detained 19,834 people at anti-war protests. Over 700 criminal cases have been brought against demonstrators.
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.
Katie Marie Davies
