Kyiv: Ukraine’s central bank unveiled a commemorative banknote on Thursday to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, which shows three soldiers raising a national flag on one side. The other side of the 20-hryvnia ($0.54) note features an image of two hands bound with tape, an apparent allusion to alleged war crimes Kiev accuses the Russian military of having committed in Ukraine. Moscow has denied the allegations. “To mark the anniversary of the war, we decided to launch a commemorative banknote, which will depict a year of emotions, patterns, materials and iconic things on a small piece of paper,” said Andrey, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine. Paishni said. During a presentation at the Central Bank in Kiev.
The central bank has worked hard since the full-scale attack on February 24 last year to keep the economy afloat and maintain stability. Last summer, it pegged the hryvnia at 36.57 to the dollar, and it has regularly intervened in the foreign exchange market to support the currency.
Thanks to billions of dollars in foreign aid from Western partners, Ukraine’s hard currency reserves have grown to nearly $30 billion, slightly higher than at the start of the war. Ukraine has also imposed sanctions on Russian financial institutions.
Pishni said the new note, which has innovative security features, will have a circulation of 300,000.
Central bank officials said it took about eight months to design and produce the note, and the bank is planning a series of commemorative notes to provide a visual record of the war.
“During this year, Ukrainians have felt their strength, their importance, their ability not only to withstand but also to win, without sparing a single military crime, a single ruined house,” Pishny said. . “This victory will be at a great cost but it will happen and it will be ours.”