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.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson conducts a meeting on Nov. 7, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested on Feb. 12 that he would not support a $95 billion foreign aid bill that included funding for Ukraine on the grounds that it did not address the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
The bill, which has slowly progressed through the Senate, allocates $60 billion to Ukraine, $14.1 billion for security aid to Israel, $9.2 billion for humanitarian support, and $4.8 billion to assist regional partners in the Indo-Pacific area. A potential final vote in the Senate could come as early as Feb. 14.
"House Republicans were crystal clear from the very beginning of discussions that any so-called national security supplemental legislation must recognize that national security begins at our own border," Johnson wrote on Twitter.
"In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters," he concluded.
While it does appear possible the bill will ultimately clear the Senate, Johnson's comments illustrate the ongoing difficulty Ukraine aid faces in the Republican-led House.
Johnson and Republican lawmakers have repeatedly insisted that Congress first address the southern border, including implementing controversial changes that are broadly unpopular with Democrats, before approving new funding for Ukraine or other U.S. allies.
Other Republicans are categorically opposed to new aid for Ukraine, regardless of any Democratic concessions on border and immigration policy.
Former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, has told members of his party not to pass legislation on the border, as he plans to run on the issue in the general election.
President Joe Biden, speaking with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Feb. 9 at the White House, said it would be "close to criminal neglect" if the U.S. Congress fails to stand by Ukraine.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
