The United States officially recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 25, 1991. The United States upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992.[1] In 2002, relations between the United States and Ukraine deteriorated after one of the recordings made during the Cassette Scandal revealed an alleged transfer of a sophisticated Ukrainian defense system to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the United States began to supply military aid to Ukraine[6] and became one of the largest defense partners of the country.[7][8] This continued after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the US massively increasing its supply of military aid and remaining one of the most important military backers of Ukraine,[9] with US President Joe Biden heavily condemning the invasion and pledging support to Ukraine.[10] A February 2023 Gallup poll found that 68% of Americans have a favorable view of Ukraine, by one percentage point the highest in Gallup's trend since 2005. The same poll found that 62% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats believe the Russia-Ukraine war is a critical threat to U.S. vital interests.[11] In December 2022, during a surprise visit to Washington D.C., Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech to a joint session of Congress. He thanked Congress and the American people for the support and stated the resolve for victory in the war.[12]
Ukrainians have generally viewed the U.S. positively, with 80% expressing a favorable view in 2002, and 60% in 2011.[13] According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 33% of Ukrainians approve of U.S. leadership, with 26% disapproving and 41% uncertain.[14] In terms of international cooperation, the U.S. is an observer state of the BSCE which Ukraine is a member of, and both countries are also observer states in the CBSS.
The history of informal American-Ukrainian diplomatic relations begins in 1919, when, in accordance with the resolution of the Directorate of Ukraine and in accordance with Order No. 6 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Extraordinary Diplomatic Mission of the Ukrainian People's Republic was sent to the United States of America, headed by Yevhen Holitsynsky (later replaced by Yulian Bachynsky in the status of "temporary acting Chairman").
Protest of the Ukrainian Republic to the United States Against the Delivery of Eastern Galicia to Polish Domination
At the time, Ukrainian delegations failed to receive any support for Ukrainian cause from both France and UK. Although some agreements were reached, neither of the states provided any actual support as in general their agenda was to restore Poland and unified anti-Bolshevik Russia.[15] Thus, Ukrainian representatives Arnold Margolin and Teofil Okunevsky had high hopes for American mission, but in the end found it even more categorical than the French and British ones:
This meeting, which took place on June 30, made a tremendous impression on both Okunevsky and me. Lansing showed complete ignorance of the situation and blind faith in Kolchak and Denikin. He categorically insisted that the Ukrainian government recognise Kolchak as the supreme ruler and leader of all anti-Bolshevik armies. When it came to the Wilson principles, the application of which was predetermined in relation to the peoples of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Lansing said that he knew only about the single Russian people and that the only way to restore Russia was a federation modeled on the United States. When I tried to prove to him that the example of the United States testifies to the need for the preliminary existence of separate states as subjects for any possible agreements between them in the future, he evaded answering and began again stubbornly urging us to recognise Kolchak. [...] That's how in reality these principles were implemented. USA supported Kolchak, England– Denikin and Yudenich, France– Galler... Only Petliura was left without any support.
—Arnold Margolin, Ukraine and Policy of the Entente (Notes of Jew and Citizen)
Informal relations between the United States and Ukrainian nationalists date back to the early days of the Cold War, when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) cooperated with the Ukrainian independence movement in the Soviet Union, many of whom were former fascist collaborators. In the early 1950s, the CIA dropped nearly 85 Ukrainian agents in a clandestine operation over Soviet territory, where they were supposed to spark a nationalist uprising in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The operation proved a failure, however, and two-thirds of the agents were immediately captured or killed. The Americans, however, did not realize the failure of the operation until several years later.[16]
The United States enjoys cordially friendly and strategic relations with independent Ukraine and attaches great importance to the success of Ukraine's transition to a democracy with a flourishing market economy.[citation needed] Following a period of economic decline characterized by high inflation and a continued reliance on state controls, the Ukrainian government began taking steps in the fall of 1999 to reinvigorate economic reform that had been stalled for years due to a lack of a reform majority in the Ukrainian parliament. The Ukrainian government's stated determination to implement comprehensive economic reform is a welcome development in the eyes of the US government, and the U.S. is committed to supporting Ukraine in continuing on this path. Bilateral relations suffered a setback in September 2002 when the federal government of the U.S. announced it had authenticated a recording of PresidentLeonid Kuchma's July 2000 decision to transfer a Kolchuga early warning system to Iraq. The Government of Ukraine denied that the transfer had occurred. Ukraine's democratic Orange Revolution has led to closer cooperation and more open dialogue between Ukraine and the United States. U.S. policy remains centered on realizing and strengthening a democratic, prosperous, a primary recipient of FSA assistance. Total U.S. assistance since independence has been more than $3 billion. U.S. assistance to Ukraine is targeted to promote political and economic reform and to address urgent humanitarian needs. The U.S. has consistently encouraged Ukraine's transition to a democratic society with a prosperous market-based economy.
In November 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected Ukraine to be eligible to apply for compact assistance. Ukraine already participates in the MCC Threshold Program, and in December 2006 signed a $45 million Threshold Program agreement. This program, which began implementation in early 2007, aims to reduce corruption in the public sector through civil society monitoring and advocacy, judicial reform, increased government monitoring and enforcement of ethical and administrative standards, streamlining and enforcing regulations, and combating corruption in higher education. Ukraine is beginning the process of developing a Compact proposal, and successful implementation of the Threshold Program will be necessary before the MCC will enter into a Compact with Ukraine.
Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present)
In addition to diplomatic support in its conflict with Russia, the U.S. provided Ukraine with US$1.5 billion in military aid from 2014 to 2019.[7] In 2021, The Sunday Times reported that the amount of military aid given was US$2.5 billion.[17]
In January 2022, the U.S. put 5,000–8,500 troops on high alert as tensions escalated in the Russo-Ukrainian War,[18] expressing willingness to further help defend Ukraine before and when Russia launched its invasion a month later.[19][20] The United States provided nearly $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2021 and 2022, up to the first week of the invasion.[6] Such aid included offensive weapons and sharing intelligence with the Ukrainian military.[9][21][22] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly sent thanks to American leaders for the support.[23][24]
In the 2022 State of the Union Address, which was attended by Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, U.S. President Joe Biden heavily criticized the invasion and pledged American support for Ukraine. American public opinion also heavily shifted towards supporting Ukraine following the invasion.[25]
President Biden visits the war memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2023.
In May 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed Bridget Brink to serve as ambassador to coincide with the reopening of the US embassy in Kyiv after it had closed due to the invasion.[26] On December 21, 2022 Zelenskyy made his first foreign trip since the invasion to Washington DC. After meeting with President Biden, he gave a speech to a joint session of congress. The speech included references to Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan and thanked the American congress and people for their support of Ukraine.[27] On February 20, 2023, President Biden conducted an unannounced visit of Kyiv.[28][29][30]
In 2022, Congress approved more than $112 billion to help Ukraine in its war with Russia. At the end of 2023, the Biden administration requested $61.4 billion more for Ukraine for the year ahead.[31]
In April 2024, Ukraine received small arms and ammunition from Washington, which were intercepted while en route from Iranian forces to rebels in Yemen supported by Tehran.[32] On 20 April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.[33]
The U.S. has debated granting Ukraine permission to use long-range weapons within Russia. U.S. officials do not believe that Ukraine has enough ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles to alter the course of the war, according to The New York Times.[34] In September 2024, reporting renewed over a potential lifting of restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western long-range weapons on Russian territory.[35] Biden met with British prime minister Keir Starmer on 13 September over the issue, though no official announcement was made.[36]
During the Ukrainian independence movement, on August 1, 1991, then-U.S.-President George H. W. Bush made a speech critical of the movement which James Carafano subsequently described as "what may have been the worst speech ever by an American chief executive".[37]
Following the success of the Euromaidan protests, United States Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland stated that the United States had "invested" $5 billion to bring about a "secure and prosperous and democratic Ukraine."[42] The Euromaidan resulted in the election of the pro-EU president Petro Poroshenko and then the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. Poroshenko requested military aid from the United States. President Barack Obama was reluctant to arm a relatively corrupt military that was recently used against anti-democracy protestors, and saw the mistaken shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by Russian-armed separatists as an example of the dangers of supplying arms to Ukraine.[6] Though the U.S. had sanctioned Russia and refused to recognize the annexation, after a year Obama declined to provide the requested lethal aid (such as FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles and F-16 fighter jets).[6] The Obama administration did supply $600 million of non-lethal military aid from 2014 to 2016, including vehicles, training, body armor, and night-vision goggles.[6]
In 2017, President Donald Trump approved $47 million of Javelin anti-tank missile and missile launchers; these were not allowed to be deployed but kept in storage as a strategic deterrent against Russian invasion.[6]
In 2018 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a provision blocking any training of Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard by American forces, citing its neo-Nazi background. In previous years, between 2014 and 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed amendments banning support of Azov, but due to pressure from the Pentagon, the amendments were quietly lifted.[43][44][45]
On April 25, 2018, 57 members of the House of Representatives, led by Ro Khanna,[46] released a condemnation of Holocaust distortion in Ukraine.[47] They criticized Ukraine's 2015 memory laws glorifying Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and its leaders, such as Roman Shukhevych.[48] The condemnation came in an open bipartisan letter to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.[49]
In summer 2019, Trump froze $400 million in military aid to Ukraine which had been approved by Congress,[6] an aid package which was the subject of a scandal stemming from a phone call that Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 25. On August 12, 2019, an anonymous whistleblower submitted a complaint to U.S. Inspector General Michael Atkinson that stated that Trump had attempted to pressure Zelenskyy into launching an investigation on former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the phone call.[50] On September 24, 2019, the United States House of Representatives initiated an impeachment inquiry against Trump.[51] Trump held a meeting with Zelenskyy in New York City on September 25, where they both stated that there was no pressuring during the July phone call and that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.[52] Trump was impeached by the House, but later acquitted in the Senate trial and continued as President until the end of his term.
From May 2019 to May 2022 the USA did not have an ambassador to Ukraine.[53][54][26]
The United States had pledged $2.175 billion in military aid to Ukraine, which included the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), a new rocket doubling the country's strike range in its conflict with Russia. The aid package also funded other weapons and equipment, such as air defense firing units, counter-drone systems, and precision-guided munitions. Since the invasion by Russian forces, the United States had pledged over $29.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.[55]
In early February 2023, 11 House Republicans led by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, introduced what they called the "Ukraine Fatigue Resolution" (H.Res. 113), calling on Biden to end military and financial aid to Ukraine while pressuring Ukraine and Russia to agree on a peace agreement.[56]
In fall 2023, US public support for arming Ukraine in its war against Russia significantly dropped. Support for U.S. weapon shipments to Ukraine dropped from 46% to 41% compared to a poll taken in May 2023. Both sides of the political spectrum saw a decline. Since the counteroffensive started in June 2023, Ukrainian forces have only retaken a series of small villages and settlements and are only in control of a small percentage of the territories occupied by Russian forces.[57]
The United States and Russia maintain one of the most important, critical, and strategic foreign relations in the world. Both nations have shared interests in nuclear safety and security, nonproliferation, counterterrorism, and space exploration. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, relations became very tense after the United States imposed sanctions against Russia. Russia placed the United States on a list of "unfriendly countries".
Diplomatic relations between the Argentine Republic and Ukraine have existed for decades. The importance of relations centers on the history of Ukrainian migration to Argentina. Ukrainians in Argentina form the second largest Ukrainian community in Latin America numbering approximately 250,000 Ukrainians and their descendants.
Turkey and Ukraine have a long chronology of historical, geographic, and cultural contact. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in early 1990s when Turkey became one of the first states in the world to announce officially about recognition of sovereign Ukraine. Turkey has an embassy in Kyiv and a consulate general in Odesa. Ukraine has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate general in Istanbul. Turkey is a full member of NATO and Ukraine is a candidate. Also both countries are BLACKSEAFOR and BSEC members.
Before 1918, both Finland and Ukraine were part of the Russian Empire. In 1918, Finland was one of the first countries to recognise Ukraine and open a diplomatic mission in Kyiv. Finland once again recognised Ukraine on December 30, 1991. Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1992. Finland is a member of NATO and the European Union which Ukraine applied for in 2022. Both countries are full members of Council of Europe.
Independence Day of Ukraine is a state holiday in modern Ukraine, celebrated on 24 August in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence of 1991.
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who is serving as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019, most notably during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine ongoing since 2022.
The Trump–Ukraine scandal was a political scandal that arose primarily from the discovery of U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to coerce Ukraine into investigating his political rival Joe Biden and thus potentially damage Biden's campaign for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination. Trump enlisted surrogates in and outside his administration, including personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr, to pressure Ukraine and other governments to cooperate in supporting and legitimizing the bogus Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory and other conspiracy theories concerning US politics. Trump blocked payment of a congressionally-mandated $400 million military aid package, in an attempt to obtain quid pro quo cooperation from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Contacts were established between the White House and government of Ukraine, culminating in a call between Trump and Zelenskyy on July 25, 2019.
The Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory is a series of false allegations that Joe Biden, while he was vice president of the United States, improperly withheld a loan guarantee and took a bribe to pressure Ukraine into firing prosecutor general Viktor Shokin to prevent a corruption investigation of Ukrainian gas company Burisma and to protect his son, Hunter Biden, who was on the Burisma board. As part of efforts by Donald Trump and his campaign in the Trump–Ukraine scandal, which led to Trump's first impeachment, these falsehoods were spread in an attempt to damage Joe Biden's reputation and chances during the 2020 presidential campaign, and later in an effort to impeach him.
The foreign policy of the Joe Biden administration emphasizes the repair of the United States' alliances, which Biden argues were damaged during the Trump administration. The administration's goal is to restore the United States to a "position of trusted leadership" among global democracies in order to address challenges posed by Russia and China. Both Biden and his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have repeatedly emphasized that no other world power should be able to surpass the United States, either militarily or economically. Biden's foreign policy has been described as having ideological underpinnings in mid-twentieth century liberal internationalism, American exceptionalism, and pragmatism.
The following is a list of events from the year 2022 in Ukraine.
U-24 is an intergovernmental peacekeeping organization proposed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy aimed at quickly ending armed conflicts between countries. It was first voiced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his speech to the U.S. Congress on 16 March 2022.
The United States has supported Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. After it began on 24 February 2022, President Joe Biden condemned the invasion, provided military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and sanctioned Russia and Belarus, the two countries most involved in invading Ukraine.
Events in the year 2023 in Ukraine.
The Walk of the Brave was laid in Kyiv on the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the 31st anniversary of Ukraine's independence. The place was not chosen by chance, because it was on the Constitution Square opposite the Verkhovna Rada.
On 21 December 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, visited the United States. During his 10-hour visit, Zelenskyy met with Joe Biden, the president of the United States, held a joint press conference, and addressed a joint session of the United States Congress. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a US$1.85 billion military aid package for Ukraine ahead of Zelenskyy's visit. Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, D.C. is his first overseas trip since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
On February 20, 2023, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, made a visit to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, his first since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Out of security concerns, his travel plans had not been made public prior to his arrival, and only two journalists accompanied him, having been sworn to secrecy three days earlier.
Events in the year 2024 in Ukraine.
The 2024 Washington summit was the 33rd summit of the heads of state and government of the thirty-two members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), their partner countries and the European Union (EU), which took place in Washington, D.C., United States, on 9–11 July 2024. The summit commemorates the landmark 75th anniversary of NATO, which was founded on 4 April 1949 with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC. The summit was also the fourth NATO summit to be held in the United States following the 1978 Washington summit, 1999 Washington summit and 2012 Chicago summit. It also marks the first summit since Sweden acceded to NATO and the last for Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General.
↑ James Carafano, "How to be a freedom fighter", The Washington Examiner(Washington, D.C.), (April 4, 2011) - "President George H.W. Bush traveled to the Ukraine and delivered what may have been the worst speech ever by an American chief executive."
↑ Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey. (5 January 2022) "The ‘mystery’ of the missing Ukraine ambassador". Politico website Retrieved 7 January 2022.
↑ Amy Mackinnon, Jack Detsch, and Robbie Gramer. (6 December 2021). "Biden Is Running Out of Time to Help Ukraine Fend Off Russia". FP website Retrieved 7 January 2022.
Beebe, George. "Groupthink Resurgent" National Interest (Jan/Feb 2020), Issue 165, pp 5–10. Explores whether President Trump delayed military assistance to Ukraine in order to press for inappropriate political favors; also examines strategic competition in Ukraine between the West and Vladimir Putin's revanchist Russia.
Buskey, Megan. "New Leader, Old Troubles" American Scholar (Winter 2020) 89#1 pp 6–11. re presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump.
Fedunkiw, Marianne P. "Ukrainian Americans." in Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp.459–474. online
Petrov, Valentyn V. "‘Grand Strategies’, Military And Political Doctrines Of The United States Of America: Trends Of Evolution After The End Of The Cold War. Lessons For Ukraine." Actual Problems Of International Relations 128 (2017): 40-50. online
Plokhy, Serhii, and M. E. Sarotte. "The Shoals of Ukraine: Where American Illusions and Great-Power Politics Collide." Foreign Affairs 99 (2020): 81+ excerpt.
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