Thursday to commemorate one year since the start of Russia’s extensive invasion, with one side showing three soldiers hoisting the flag.
The depiction of two hands tied together with tape on the reverse of the 20 hryvnia ($0.54) note appears to be a reference to the alleged war crimes that Kiev accuses Russian soldiers of conducting in Ukraine.
The accusations have been refuted by Moscow.
ernor Andriy Pyshnyi holds the banknotes. Credit: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
“To mark the anniversary of the war, we decided to launch a commemorative banknote which will depict on a small piece of paper a year of emotions, patterns, content and iconic things,” Andriy Pyshnyi, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, said during a presentation at the central bank in Kyiv.
The central bank has worked hard since the invasion 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 intervened regularly on 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.
Pyshnyi said the new note, which contains 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 plans a series of commemorative notes to provide a visual record of the war.
They said they were already planning new notes to commemorate victory and Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“During this year, Ukrainians have realized their force, their significance, their ability not only to withstand but also to win, to win without forgiving a single military crime, a single ruined house,” Pyshnyi said. “This victory will be at a very high price but it will happen and it will be ours.”