Ukraine - US Relations

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an end to the Cold War and
created an opportunity to build bilateral relations with the New Independent States (NIS) as they
began a political and economic transformation. On December 25, 1991, the United States officially
recognized the independence of Ukraine. It upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy
status on January 21, 1992.
In Lisbon on May 23, 1992, the United States signed a protocol to the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START) with Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan (those states on whose
territory strategic nuclear weapons of the former Soviet Union are located). The protocol makes
each state a party to the START Treaty and commits all signatories to reductions in strategic nuclear
weapons within the 7-year period provided for in the treaty. Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan also
agreed to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as non-nuclear weapons states. The treaty
entered into force on December 5, 1994, the same day Ukraine acceded to the NPT.
Through FY 1999, the US Department of Defense provided $568 million under its
Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR or "Nunn-Lugar") Program to eliminate strategic nuclear
delivery systems in Ukraine. CTR activities are facilitating START I implementation and are helping
to eliminate all strategic nuclear weapons systems in Ukraine, including SS-19 and SS-24 ballistic
missiles and associated silos and launch control centers, heavy bombers and air-launched cruise
missiles. The US has provided nearly $15 million to assist Ukraine in establishing an effective
export control system. In FY 2000, the US will contribute over $14 million to projects aimed at
redirecting former Soviet weapons scientists to peaceful research. In addition, the US has provided
Ukraine more than $19 million in International Military Education and Training (IMET) and
Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to promote military reform and advance Ukraine's ability to
participate in NATO Partnership for Peace activities, including peacekeeping in Kosovo.
The United States attached great importance to the success of Ukraine's transition to a
democratic state with a flourishing market economy. Following a period of economic decline
characterized by high inflation and a continued reliance on state controls, the Ukrainian
Government, under the leadership of reelected President Leonid Kuchma, 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 (Rada). The Ukrainian Government's new determination to
implement comprehensive economic reform is a welcome development, and the US is committed to
strengthening its support for Ukraine as it embarks on this difficult path.
A cornerstone for the continuing US partnership with Ukraine and the other NIS was the
Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets
(FREEDOM) Support Act (FSA), enacted in October 1992. Ukraine has been a primary recipient of
FSA assistance. Total US assistance since independence has been more than $2 billion. Total US
assistance planned for FY 2000 is about $216 million, of which approximately $168 million is FSA
funding. US assistance to Ukraine is targeted to promote political and economic reform and to
address urgent humanitarian needs. The US consistently encouraged Ukraine's transition to a
democratic society with a prosperous market-based economy.
US technical assistance in the 1990s to support Ukraine's transition to a market economy
focused primarily on economic restructuring, development of the private sector, and energy-sector
reform. US assistance priorities for Ukraine have included enterprise development, deregulation,
macroeconomic reform, civil society development, community-based programs, and nuclear safety.
US advisers have provided technical assistance in financial sector reform, tax policy and
administration, bankers' training, land legislation, smallscale and municipal services privatization,
agricultural development and agribusiness, corporatization of the electric power sector, energy
pricing and efficiency, and public education concerning the environment. The Western NIS
Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), announced by President Clinton in January 1994 to promote private
sector business development in Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus, has committed $74 million to 22
companies through 1999.
The US promoted Ukraine's democratic transition by supporting programs in the 1990s on
participatory political systems, independent media, rule of law, local governance, and civil society,

as well as a wide range of exchanges and training. USAID has provided Ukraine with technical
assistance related to elections, the development of political parties and grassroots civic
organizations, and the development of independent media. USAID worked in the 1990s with
Ukrainian officials and nonprofit organizations to create a legal system supportive of a democratic
government and a market-based economy. The State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is promoting cooperation between US law enforcement
agencies and their Ukrainian counterparts to reform Ukraine's criminal justice system. In 1997, the
US Government launched a special initiative to combat trafficking in women and children from
Ukraine, including efforts to promote economic alternatives for vulnerable populations, increase
public awareness, and provide support for victims.
During the 1999 meeting of the US-Ukraine Binational ("Gore-Kuchma")Commission in
Washington, the US announced the Next Generation Initiative, which will double the number of key
exchange programs, refocusing US assistance on Ukraine's youth. Since 1993, the US Government
had brought nearly 11,400 Ukrainians to the US for long-term study or short-term professional
training and will bring an additional 2,300 over the next year. Ukrainian entrepreneurs, journalists,
academia, local government officials, and other professionals have participated in these exchanges.
US exchanges and training programs have enabled Ukrainians to participate in a broad range of
programs in the United States. The US Commerce Department's Special American Business
Internship Training (SABIT) Program and the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Cochran
Fellowship Program brought nearly 500 Ukrainian business executives, scientists, and agriculturists
to the US for internships and training programs. In addition, a $5-million joint US-EU civil society
project is supporting civic education, NGO development, good governance, and parliamentary
exchanges, expanding Ukraine's contacts with Americans and Europeans, and Peace Corps
volunteers are working in Ukraine with a focus on small-business development and English
teaching.
The US assisted Ukraine's efforts in the 1990s to maximize equity in reform and to sustain
social welfare and stability during and beyond its market economic transition. Toward this end,
USAID is providing assistance to local governments in redefining the roles of the public and private
sectors in providing social services to allow government to focus limited resources on key social
sectors. Training and technical assistance are being provided to Ukrainian institutions and
government agencies on reforms of health care financing and delivery of medical services. A
number of medical partnerships between US and Ukrainian health care institutions have been
established to improve both patient care and institutional management. Also, USAID is providing
training and technical assistance on ways to improve reproductive health, focusing on providing
family planning services and reducing the use of abortion.
Between 1992 and 2000, the US State Department's Operation Provide Hope provided more
than $416 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. In 1999, the Office of the Coordinator of
US Assistance to the NIS expended $3.8 million in transportation and grant funds to deliver $77
million in humanitarian assistance to targeted groups in Ukraine. In 1999, Operation Provide Hope
funded a total of six humanitarian airlifts and 544 deliveries via surface transportation. A total of
$18.5 million in US Defense Department excess medical equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals
was delivered and distributed during the 1999 August-October period to 18 hospitals and clinics in
Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast (Region).
The US-Ukraine Trade Agreement, effective June 22, 1992, provided reciprocal mostfavored-nation tariff treatment to the products of each country. Since January 1994, the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved investment insurance totaling more than $23
million for three projects in Ukraine. OPIC also has sponsored conferences and exchanges to
encourage joint ventures between US and Ukrainian companies. US Export-Import Bank signed a
project incentive agreement with the Ukrainian Government in 1999 but has yet to approve any
projects in Ukraine. A treaty on avoiding double taxation is close to completion.
Ukraine's democratic "Orange Revolution" led to closer cooperation and more open dialogue
between Ukraine and the United States. The United States granted Ukraine market economy status
in February 2006. In March 2006, the United States terminated the application of the Jackson-Vanik

amendment to Ukraine, providing Ukraine permanent normal trade relations status. The United
States and Ukraine signed a new Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement (TICA) on April 1,
2008. The TICA established a forum for discussion of bilateral trade and investment relations and
will help deepen those relations. US policy remains centered on realizing and strengthening a
democratic, prosperous, and secure Ukraine more closely integrated into Europe and Euro-Atlantic
structures.
A cornerstone for the continuing US partnership with Ukraine and the other countries of the
former Soviet Union has been the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and
Open Markets (FREEDOM) Support Act (FSA), enacted in October 1992. Ukraine has been a
primary recipient of FSA assistance. Total US assistance since independence has been more than
$4.1 billion. US assistance to Ukraine is targeted to promote political, security, and economic reform
and to address urgent social and humanitarian needs. The US has consistently encouraged Ukraine's
transition to a democratic society with a prosperous market-based economy.
In December 2009 Ukraine completed a 3-year $45 million Millennium
Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Program agreement. This program aimed 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.
In December 2008, the United States signed the US-Ukraine Charter on Strategic
Partnership. The Charter highlights the importance of the bilateral relationship and outlines
enhanced cooperation in the areas of defense, security, economics and trade, energy security,
democracy, and cultural exchanges. The Charter also emphasizes the continued commitment of the
United States to support enhanced engagement between NATO and Ukraine. To fulfill one of the
key tenets of the charter, Vice President Joseph Biden and President Yushchenko established the
Strategic Partnership Commission during Vice President Bidens July 2009 visit to Kyiv. The
commissions first meeting took place December 9, 2009 in Washington, its second meeting took
place in Kyiv on July 2, 2010 in conjunction with Secretary of State Hillary Clintons visit to
Ukraine, and its third meeting took place in Washington on February 15, 2011.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenkos September 2014 visit to the United States ended
without the achievement of its chief goal: being officially recognized as a special non-NATO ally to
the US. The White House declined to award Ukraine this status and also refused to supply Kiev with
weapons, though it promised political and financial support. The White House refused to supply
Ukraine with arms or grant it the status of special strategic NATO partner in the military sphere.
However, Washington promised to continue providing political support to the country and allocated
$53 million in financial assistance.
The guiding principal of American policy throughout this period had been to stand with the
people of Ukraine and to underline the importance of restoration of Ukraines sovereignty and
territorial integrity. The US committed over 600 million U.S. dollars of assistance to support that
effort, but the most important engagement was that which has helped to modernize Ukrainian
defense structures and to optimize the main themes through which Ukrainian security leaders can
enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian armed forces.
US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said 31 July 2016 : "The oligarchs have become
less powerful. We had this problem in the United States in the early 20th century with, for example,
the Rockefellers and Carnegies, but we managed to get this problem under control. Ukraine is just
starting that process and it will take time. But Ukrainian society no longer accepts this
unquestioned, and the media have become much more active. This is not a frozen conflict if one
day two people are killed and the next day three. On the contrary: The security situation is
deteriorating... The objective remains to restore Ukrainian control over the territory of the entire
state. Russia is still far from implementing the obligations under the Minsk Agreement.... I am
legally barred from commenting on US domestic politics. "
Comments by US Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump about the conflict
between Ukraine and Russia, including Moscows annexation of Crimea, were not well received by
Ukrainian politicians and analysts. In a television interview 31 July 2016 with ABC News, Trump

said the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they
were. He also said that, if elected president, he would take a look at recognizing the Black Sea
peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as Russian territory. Trump's stance
contradicted US policy, which continued to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine. Following
Moscows annexation of the peninsula, President Barack Obama imposed economic sanctions
against Moscow that were still place. The sanctions were expanded after Russia started backing
armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Former Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk wrote: "The United States is the leader
of the free world. Without leadership and alliances, this world will be destroyed, by the Putins, Le
Pens, Assads, Kim Jong Uns and dozens of other dictators, demagogues, populists. Americans
deserve to have a responsible and reasonable president and commander-in-chief. It is difficult to
overestimate the role of such a leader. The official U.S. presidential candidate is challenging the
values of the free world, the civilized order and international law. It is difficult to call it ignorance.
This is a violation of ethical and civilizational principles."
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote in July 2016 "The shameless statement of U.S.
presidential candidate Trump on the possible recognition of Crimea as Russia is a diagnosis of a
dangerous outcast... He is dangerous both for Ukraine and the U.S., to the same extent. An outcast
bowing down to Putin's dictatorship cannot be the guarantor of democratic freedoms in the U.S. and
the world."
Ian Bremmer, president of the New York-based political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told
Bloomberg 15 November 2016 that two and a half years after Russia launched a covert military
operation to back separatists in the Donbas, Ukraines interests are likely to be sacrificed as the new
administration in Washington prioritizes cooperation with Moscow. Trump will want to put points
on the board and I think it is highly likely the U.S. under Trump will move quickly to re-establish
the relationship with Russia, on Syria in particular, said Bremmer. That clearly throws Ukraine
under a bus." The election on 13 November 2016 of pro-Russian leaders in EU-candidate Moldova
and EU member Bulgaria underscored the sense that the geopolitical scene was shifting in Russias
favor, leaving Ukraine increasingly isolated.