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.
A view of a destroyed house aftermath of the Russian FAB-500 aerial bomb attack on the town of Selydove on the Pokrovsk front on June 26, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian troops accelerated their advance toward Pokrovsk over the past week and are likely within 10 kilometers from the edge of the town, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence report on Sept. 1.
The eastern front near Pokrovsk has been the scene of fierce fighting for several months and a focal point of Russia's offensive in Donetsk Oblast. The city is an important logistical hub for Ukrainian forces.
On Aug. 15, the military administration of Pokrovsk urged residents to evacuate after Russian forces reached about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the town's outskirts.
Responding to a question from the Kyiv Independent, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 27 that the Russian advance on Pokrovsk had slowed in tempo compared to before the Kursk incursion began.
According to the crowd-sourced monitoring website DeepState, Russian troops have been advancing towards Pokrovsk throughout the three weeks of the ongoing Kursk operation.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi acknowledged thatone of the objectives of Kursk incursion was to divert a significant number of Russian forces from other sectors, primarily from the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions.
Syrskyi said on Aug. 29 that fighting at the front near Pokrovsk was "exceptionally brutal."
"The enemy throws everything that can move and advance into the battle, trying to break through the defenses of our troops," the general said after visiting the eastern front.
According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, the speed of the advance is "likely to slow as Russian ground forces reach Pokrovsk's built-up areas."
"The operational tempo of military activity has remained low on all other front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine," the Defense Ministry added.
As of Aug. 28, around 38,000 people remain in Pokrovsk, according to the local authorities.
Asami Terajima
