Recently, one of the most discussed matters on the international platforms and in the media is the continued large-scale support for Ukraine on the part of the United States. This topic took on even more relevance during President Zelenskyi’s visit to Washington and in the course of the US Congress’s adoption of the budget resolution, from which an aid package for Ukraine was removed in the final stage of the process. Although the White House and the Congress are providing firm assurances that the support for Ukraine will continue, the situation remains complex, and the entire world is observing it closely. In an exclusive interview with Ukrinform, Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the USA, commented on the details of these processes and the President’s visits, the importance of new appointments in the US Administration, and much else besides.
THE US BUDGET AND SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
- Let’s start with the most topical matters. The US Congress adopted a resolution in order to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday, but removed from it aid to Ukraine that had previously been envisaged. Nonetheless, both Democrats and Republicans, as well as the US President, have personally pledged that the support will persist. How would you comment on this situation?
- In fact, behind all the allocations of funds for Ukraine have been the frequently inconspicuous, yet monumental, efforts by the extensive team in Ukraine and the United States, not least the constant collaboration between our Embassy and the US Congress. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Congress, with its four Acts on additional funding, has allocated nearly $113.4 billion for programmes associated with aid for Ukraine, and for countries that have either suffered as a result of the aggression or helped us. Here are the precise amounts: $13.6 billion was allocated in March 2022; $40.1 billion in May, $12.3 billion in September, and $47.3 billion in December of last year. However, these decisions were always preceded by complex discussions and voting. Certain bills were also blocked at various times, e.g. in May, when changes to the budget for 2022 were being considered. Every bill had to go through a complicated process in Congress and at the level of cooperation between legislators and the US Administration. Not all of them stayed the same as had initially been planned.
This year, the process of adopting the budget for 2024 is taking place in the midst of the pre-election campaign, which is effectively under way. This process began with discussions about the budget for the year and agreements within Congress regarding the ‘debt ceiling’. The lack of consensus gradually led to the discussions shifting to the budget resolution for the quarter, and then for 30 and 45 days. All of this was caused exclusively by American domestic matters. Regardless of that, we still have bipartisan support for Ukraine in both chambers, and we keep on working to strengthen it. Even the interim vote that took place last week provides evidence of this. However, faced with the risk of a shutdown, the Congress eventually managed to vote through only the ‘short’ document, for 45 days, which only contained federal government programmes.
Given that the previous budget contains significant transitional funds, we are going to use them now, so there is no risk of a cessation in funding. It is unfortunate that Ukrainian programmes were not added to the decision for 45 days; however, it is much more important to get full funding in the main budget decision.
Since Saturday, I have had numerous meetings and telephone calls with members of Congress. Many senators and congressmen from both parties called not just for the support for Ukraine to be approved or retained, but for it to be strengthened. Moreover, the administration is actively working with Congress on this matter.
Talks on developing a new budget decision that incorporates aid for Ukraine are still ongoing, and they are very active. The budget may be approved both as a separate law and as part of a larger funding package from the United States Department of Defense. That is why we, at the Embassy, and all friends of democracy and freedom, will be working non-stop to make sure these talks result in a positive outcome.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES OF THE PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES
- Let’s talk about the Ukrainian President’s visit to the United States. First of all, he met with Democrats and Republicans in Congress. The White House called this meeting “very important”, as the lawmakers heard directly from the President about how Ukraine was achieving the goals it had set, and what was needed for this to happen. How do you assess the outcome of these talks?
- The visit was of critical importance, and I consider it to have been very successful. It started back in New York, and some meetings held as part of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly were dedicated not only to UN issues but also to the broader agenda. There were also some bilateral meetings, which were important for Ukrainian–American relations.
The President only spent one day in Washington, but he managed to fit into it as much as you would normally expect from a fully-fledged visit lasting several days. Undoubtedly, the visits to Congress and the White House were an absolute must. In December, we chose for the President to address Congress, and his address is still remembered and debated; this time, it was critical to speak frankly with leaders and members of both parties, and both chambers, behind closed doors. As you know, the United States has entered the active phase of the pre-election process, and this is undeniably having an impact on many aspects.
The meetings in Congress began with a detailed discussion with the speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and the leaders of both parties in the House of Representatives, during which many issues were discussed, from where we are now and why it is important that we win, to the specific needs of Ukraine. This was followed by a big meeting organised by the party leaders in the Senate, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, with over half of the Senate’s lawmakers in attendance. This was another frank dialogue, where a vast list of issues was discussed. For us, the 'holy grail' of relations with the United States is powerful bipartisan support, so right now, we are strengthening relations with both parties. This was therefore what the meeting in Congress, and our efforts more generally, were aimed at.
As usual, the negotiations in the White House were very positive. It was crucial that we had both face-to-face meetings and meetings with a larger circle of people at this time. The conversations we had turned out to be longer than anticipated. Meeting people in person is useful, as not all matters can be discussed via video conference, though our President does use that format on a regular basis. It was a personal meeting that enabled all our efforts to be coordinated.
The presidents discussed aid for Ukraine and current developments on the battlefield – not just the capacities we need and where to find them, but also, and perhaps most importantly, a historic decision on joint arms manufacture was reached. And this is not just something that could 'potentially' happen 'someday': the presidents discussed and reached an agreement that teams from both countries are currently implementing. This is a new form of cooperation in defence sector manufacturing in Ukraine.
- Can you at least outline the areas that this joint manufacturing will touch upon? Naturally, specific projects and details are confidential because of the war. But what are the general areas involved?
- This will involve all defence technologies, including air defence. More capabilities are coming from the United States, which are manufactured by American companies – from artillery to various kinds of equipment, vehicles and other types of weapons and air defence systems. Therefore, everything we manage to put in place with the companies for manufacturing in Ukraine will be supported by both states at the highest level, and is now being developed as a joint programme. Such initiatives have already been discussed at the Defence Technology Forum, and the President announced the creation of a Defence Industries Alliance. Basically, on the day after the leaders' meeting, our Minister for Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshyn, held a meeting with manufacturers interested in joint manufacturing.
F-16s FOR UKRAINE: IS EVERYTHING GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN?
- Several days ago, the Pentagon officially confirmed that Ukrainian pilots had started training on F-16s, and that, specifically, they had begun the language training stage. Is it fair to say that everything is going according to plan in this matter? And does that plan depend on the new defence aid package to be approved by the US Congress?
- Everything is going according to plan, but as you know, we always want to do everything as fast as possible. Hence, we are very pleased that the language training has already begun. That being said, we want more of the Ukrainian pilots to be trained here, in the United States.
We are actively working with the Pentagon and our other partners – not just with the United States – on the transfer of F-16 aircraft. Training is undeniably an important stage, but we also remain focused on actually getting the fighter jets. As you might know, three countries have already announced their willingness to hand them over. Granting the relevant permits requires a specific process, so that is something we are involved in, too. And the fully-fledged deployment of such capabilities in Ukraine undoubtedly calls for additional infrastructure, which should be rolled out together with our partners.
This will certainly require additional aid packages, so we continue to work with Congress and convince the bipartisan majority that we must win this war together. To achieve that, we need defence aid, direct budgetary support for Ukraine, and also sanctions and isolation for Russia.
A CHANGE OF COMMANDERS IN THE USA: WHAT SHOULD UKRAINE EXPECT
- General Mark Milley has officially ended his tenure as the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, handing over the reins to Charles Brown. You were present during the ceremony marking this occasion, and after it you wrote about your expectations for an equally effective interaction in the future. Do you know General Brown personally, and is he ready to continue actively lobbying for powerful military aid to Ukraine?
- Of course, CQ [Charles Quinton – ed.] Brown and I know each other. We worked together when he was the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He is well-informed about the situation in Ukraine. The fact that the representative of the Air Force has become the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff is somewhat symbolic, in a year in which we reached an agreement with the United States about the deployment of F-16s in Ukraine.
We are genuinely grateful to Mark Milley for his active support. We had a chance to talk about that [during the ceremony – ed.] with our military attaché, General Borys Kremenetskyi. We also talked to CQ Brown and are confident that the active work he did in his previous post will only be intensified in his new role.
It is also crucial to us that commanders in the United States are appointed for a four-year term. Given the democratic processes in the United States and the election cycles, it is essential to have active cooperation with the military commanders, as well as with the administration and the politicians. After all, they are the ones actively cooperating with our commanders, including on particular areas. This is a guarantee not only that we will achieve victory in the present, but that we will also attain our future goals, including NATO membership and the deployment of NATO-class capabilities.
We have established cooperation with the United States Marine Corps, chaired by General Eric Smith, with whom we worked extensively in recent years when he served as the Deputy Chair. The interaction at the level of Ground Forces, Naval Forces, and the intelligence community is similar. We are actively working with all types of forces here in the United States. Not a single week goes by without us meeting with them. However, a significant portion of this work takes place behind the scenes, and we do very little public reporting about these meetings, though they constitute an essential element of our efforts.
- You said that you had communicated with General Milley during the ceremony. Did he perhaps have something to say about Ukraine, as he calls time on his career?
- Yes, we talked after the ceremony. You must understand that this person dedicated his life to the Armed Forces, to the defence of the United States. He had said publicly in the past that he was waiting for the moment when, after retiring, he would finally be able to spend time with his family and grandchildren. That is very important to him. After the chat we had, I am convinced that General Milley will not stop monitoring the maps of Ukraine that he always has with him, and continuing to help us in one way or another.
THE APPOINTMENT OF PRITZKER AUGURS WELL FOR UKRAINE
- Several weeks ago, President Biden introduced a new post of the Special Representative of the United States for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, and appointed to the role Penny Pritzker, a successful businesswoman and former Secretary of Commerce who has Ukrainian roots. What is this new communication channel intended to provide in practice, and what is already being done right now?
- We welcome this appointment. We raised this issue in the United States as early as in 2022, and proposed that a special coordinator for recovery be appointed. We are even more pleased to see Ms Pritzker in this position. She is an extraordinary specialist with serious leadership qualities, who showed what she could do while chairing the Department of Commerce. At the same time, she has a great love of Ukraine in her heart, and a desire to help the country that her family comes from.
This appointment is a strong signal that our strategic friend, America, will not only stand by our side until victory, but will become a reliable partner in the subsequent restoration work. It also indicates that the United States Administration is already taking steps to better coordinate its efforts when it comes to rebuilding.
In our bilateral interaction, we have identified three primary areas of focus that we have been working on, both prior to the full-scale invasion and after it. Weapons are the number one priority; aid to Ukraine and direct budgetary aid are priority number two; and sanctions, isolation, and restrictions on Russia come third. However, when Russia started committing countless war crimes, systematically destroying our energy infrastructure and razing entire cities to the ground, it became clear that “rapid” restoration was needed right away. Hence, energy aid, recovery aid, business aid, and agricultural programmes have begun to feature in the United States budget. In this sector, we are working with multiple people from the United States Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, USAID, and other institutions. At a certain point, we realised that preparing for restoration requires all our efforts to be coordinated at a more strategic level.
In addition, a multi-donor platform, composed of all the G7 states and international financial institutions, has started operating. It has four co-chairs – from Ukraine, the USA, the EU, and the country chairing the G7. Each country must be represented at the meetings by a particular person. Before, this role was performed by Mike Pyle, the White House Deputy National Security Advisor, but now the United States will be represented on this platform by Penny Pritzker.
This appointment will therefore strengthen the coordination both inside the American Administration and between the USA and Ukraine and their partners. For these reasons, this is a really positive step.
- We know that Penny Pritzker has already held some meetings; in particular, she met the President of Ukraine in person during his visit to the United States...
- On the first day, when her appointment became known, I said that this office would work really actively. Ms. Pritzker immediately visited our Embassy, where we discussed multiple matters. She was also present at the meeting of the presidents held at the White House, had a conversation with President Zelenskyi before the one at the UN, and had already travelled to Brussels and participated in the latest platform meeting. In the time that has elapsed since her appointment – a little over two weeks – she held countless meetings with representatives of American companies operating in Ukraine. Furthermore, we held a round table with business leaders within the framework of the United Nations, attended by Secretary of State Blinken, Ms Pritzker, and Oleksandr Kamyshyn. There, we discussed the specific steps needed for business from the governments, to invest in Ukraine and start developing Ukraine now.
BUSINESS CAN AND MUST BE DONE IN UKRAINE
- So, that brings us to the subject of business. The Ukrainian President spoke with influential American business people during his trip to New York, to discuss the possibility of making investments in Ukraine’s reconstruction and investment projects. To what extent are US business circles ready to contribute to these efforts now? And how is that related to their expectations as regards reforms in Ukraine?
- Despite the horrific tragedy we are currently experiencing, Ukraine is inspiring the entire world with its combativeness, its resilience, its commitment to independence, freedom and democracy, and its willingness to fight effectively. Ten years ago, we had to explain what Ukraine was; three years ago, we had to explain why Ukraine is not Russia, why we are not brotherly nations and do not speak the same language; but now, there is no need to convince anyone that Ukraine is a unique country, and one that is extremely important for the region and beyond. The level of interest is extremely high.
The moment has come when we need to do everything in our power to achieve victory and form a pool of companies willing to take specific practical steps. Hence, the President is focusing a significant amount of attention on the Defence Industries Forum, the establishment of the Alliance, and meetings with decision-makers at major strategic enterprises. In addition to the meeting in New York, many business representatives were present in Washington during the President’s address at the US National Archives. Firstly, at meetings like these, CEOs hear what is needed for victory, and what our plan is, directly from the President, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief. Secondly, they hear about how we are going to rebuild Ukraine so that it is in an even better place than it used to be. We are aiming to build a country that is more forward-thinking and progressive when it comes to new tech and doing business. Thirdly, they hear about the reforms implemented in spite of the full-scale war.
Ukraine underwent numerous reforms from 2015 to 2022. The scope for corruption, of the kind for which Ukraine was known prior to 2013, has been seriously reduced, thanks to the relaunching of entire sectors and the creation of several institutions from scratch. Many reforms are being implemented in the country even now, in time of war. It is critical for us to tell the world that we are not just fighting against a universal evil – aggressive, autocratic Russia – but are also transforming Ukraine and establishing a level playing field. And this information is important for business.
Raising awareness, arousing interest, and convincing businesses to come to Ukraine – these things are all having a positive impact. Hence, a total of over 250 companies participated in the Defence Industries Forum, and even more companies operating in the fields of agriculture, technologies, and innovations have been regularly visiting us over the past 18 months. It is important that they return home with the conviction that business can, and must, be done in Ukraine now, today. And that is truly inspiring. Therefore, we will continue dealing with all our priorities, so as to help Ukraine win the war and then secure another win in peacetime.
Yaroslav Dovhopol, Washington
(photo provided by the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA)