The Motherland Monument in Kyiv. File photoMOSCOW, June 15Representatives of the Ukrainian energy sector are proposing to conclude a “lend-lease agreement” with the United States in the energy sector to provide the country with American liquefied natural gas (LNG), Foreign Policy reports. US President Joe Biden previously signed a lend-lease law for Ukraine. The document, approved by both houses of Congress, is designed to simplify the provision of military assistance to the country. In particular, he temporarily removes a number of «requirements related to the president's powers to lend-lease defense equipment if it is intended for the government of Ukraine or other countries of Eastern Europe that have been subjected to Russian invasion,» according to the description of the document on the website of the US Congress.
«The consequences will be global.» What will Lend-Lease result in for Ukraine? One of them is the conclusion of a lend-lease agreement, according to which the United States will provide Ukraine with six billion cubic meters of LNG. Since Ukraine does not have its own terminals, gas will be delivered to Europe and enter the country through a pipeline. Kyiv will pay off Washington after domestic gas production is increased, the newspaper notes. «They were surprised to hear this idea, but it was well received,» the magazine quotes the words of the head of the Ukrainian Naftogaz administration. Kyiv's other proposals include securing «international funding» for gas purchases in the Middle East and North Africa, developing alternative energy supply routes, and receiving funds from the US International Development Finance Corporation.
The Guardian revealed the reason why the West may deprive Kyiv of assistanceAccording to the publication, Ukrainian representatives are also trying to persuade Western colleagues to invest in Ukraine and help the country develop subsoil through horizontal drilling. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, as of March 25, they have completed the main tasks of the first stage — they have significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
