Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
Although Moscow declared on April 28 that it would halt all military actions from May 8 to midnight on May 11 to mark Victory Day, strikes on civilian areas have continued.
Under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932–1933. The dictator also oversaw mass deportations, purges of Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders, and the suppression of the Ukrainian language and culture.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this marks the first time Ukrainian authorities have exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network conducting activities harmful to Ukraine.
Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe gathered in Lviv as EU officials prepare to approve both new defense aid and steps toward establishing a tribunal for Russian leadership.
The ruling marks a significant victory for RFE/RL amid growing concerns about U.S. funding cuts to independent media countering Russian disinformation.
U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
George Simion, leader of Romania's far-right AUR party, who won the first round of the presidential election with nearly 40% of the vote, reiterated that if elected, he would oppose any further assistance to Ukraine and shift Romania’s focus inward.
A man prints banknotes of Ukraine's national currency, the hryvnia, at a National Bank of Ukraine facility in Kyiv on Oct. 1, 2019. The sale of Ukrainian bonds fell by up to 4.6% on Jan. 17 amid Russia's threat at Ukraine's borders. . (Yelyzaveta Serhiienko/ Press office NBU)
Ukrainian government bonds fell by up to 4.6% on Jan. 17, as Russia continued to mass troops on Ukraine’s border, fuelling fears of a large-scale invasion.
Sovereign bond yields are often used as an indicator of foreign investor confidence in a country’s economy: the higher the yield, the more risky the asset.
The yield on bonds due to mature (pay out interest) in September 2022 soared to 26.55% at the Jan. 17 auction, while it stood at 19.67% on Jan. 14.
However, Hlib Vyshlinsky, the head of the Center for Economic Strategy, told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 18 that this tendency would only be a problem for Ukraine’s economy if it lasts.
According to him, there’s no need to panic if it’s a short-term fluctuation.
However, if such high yields stay at the same level or go up over the next month, it could hurt the government’s ability to finance the budget deficit and force it to cut social spending.
“It will also result in a delay in the planned investment projects because of high military risks, and economic growth in this period,” Vyshlinsky said.
Ukrainian debt has been a popular purchase for foreign fund managers in recent years, leaving the bonds vulnerable to a mass sell-off amid the recent escalation of tensions with Russia.
Ukrainian bond values dropped after investors started selling last week due to an increasing perceived risk of a full-scale invasion by Russia.
“The market has to price in some kind of probability of Russia invading,” Viktor Szabo, a director at investment fund Abrdn, told Euronews on Jan. 17.
Bond spreads are differences between the yields of various bonds: a high spread shows high country risk. Ukraine’s are currently at the same level as in March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Spreads are also at similar levels to those seen in spring 2014, when Russia invaded and then annexed Crimea, but are still not quite at the level of early 2015, when Ukraine nearly defaulted.
The J.P. Morgan index on emerging markets put Ukraine in the same category as Venezuela and Lebanon, indicating distressed bonds, Reuters reported.
On Jan. 13, the hryvnia hit its weakest level against the dollar since April after a 0.5% fall, according to the Financial Times.
At the same time, Russia’s currency, bonds, and stocks have also taken a hit as tensions between the two countries showed no sign of easing. The Russian rouble fell nearly 3% to hit a nine-month low of 76.5 roubles to the dollar, following a week of diplomatic talks between Russia and the West which yielded no resolution but brought further threats from Moscow.
Alexander Query is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He is the former business editor at the Kyiv Post. He worked as a TV correspondent and an anchorman at UATV in Ukraine, and received a BA in modern literature from La Sorbonne, in Paris.
