European leaders are urging private business and equity funds to not be afraid to invest in rebuilding Ukraine now even as Russia accelerates its war.

A group of American veterans and diplomats who served in Kyiv are teaming up with a Ukrainian winery owner to bring a taste of the Black Sea coast to a U.S. audience.

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to broker a peace deal in Ukraine, but as he prepares to take office, peace seems as elusive as ever.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was another major day on Capitol Hill in the ongoing House impeachment inquiry into President Trump, as several more key witnesses are set to testify. Alexander Vindman, Jennifer Williams, Kurt Volker, and Timothy Morrison all answered questions under oath in the latest chapter into this inquiry.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A State Department official told lawmakers that Rudy Giuliani's attacks were part of a "campaign of lies" against the former Ukraine ambassador, according to a transcript released Thursday. Kent said that Sondland's "freelancing" on Ukraine caused concern inside the State Department. "He actually said that he could not share the majority of what was discussed because of the very sensitive nature of what was discussed," Kent testified. Kent said that Shokin was "well and very unfavorably known" to the State Department, and the visa ultimately was not approved. A career diplomat since 1992, Kent is the deputy assistant secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau, and oversees State Department activities for six countries, including Ukraine.

House Democrats on Tuesday released excerpts of the transcripts of their closed-door depositions with Sondland and former US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker, and they're soon expected to release the full transcripts of their closed-door interviews. In his testimony, Volker provided more detail into the May 23 meeting with Trump in which the president directed his aides to "talk to Rudy" about Ukraine. "They are all corrupt, they are all terrible people," Volker recalled Trump saying. Volker, Trump's handpicked envoy to handle the crisis in Ukraine, was the first witness to testify in the impeachment inquiry. In his testimony, Sondland said the President had told him directly that "there is no quid pro quo."

Within the State Department, in conversations with nearly a dozen staff, the word that repeatedly came to people's lips as they described their colleagues wasn't "swamp." Next week, an old army friend of Pompeo's, State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl, is slated to testify -- though he has ignored a previous request to appear voluntarily. 'Fixated'In April -- one year into his tenure as secretary of state -- Pompeo unveiled a "professional ethos" for the State Department. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they still deal with the State Department. "It's a source of power for him," Anderson said, "but this has come at the expense of his reputation inside the State Department."

Witnesses in the impeachment probe have testified to Giuliani's outsized influence on Ukraine policy, including pressing for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden's work with Burisma. "During my time at the NSC, I received multiple calls from lobbyist Robert Livingston, who told me that Ambassador Yovanovitch should be fired," Croft plans to say. "The only reason given was that the order came at the direction of the President," Croft is expected to say. Neither Croft nor Anderson were on the July 25 phone call when Trump pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Biden. Many of the witnesses, including Anderson and Croft, are widely respected diplomats who have served in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Drew Angerer/2017 Getty Images(CNN) - Two State Department experts on Ukraine are slated to become the latest diplomats thrust into the spotlight as part of the House impeachment inquiry. That colleague told CNN that the State Department always picked its "best people" to take Ukraine jobs due to the challenging nature of the work. She had previously served at the National Security Council, focusing on Ukraine issues, and on the State Department's Ukraine desk. Both have long memories of established US-Ukraine policy -- another former State Department official who worked with them said they were "steeped in the policy issues." The first former State Department colleague told CNN that they believe the committees will get "good information" from Croft's and Anderson's testimony.

Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor plans to fill in the gaps of his text messages with U.S. diplomats about Ukraine that have formed a key part of the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump and Ukraine, according to a source familiar with his testimony. Taylor plans to include a chronology of events, according to the source, dating back to June, when Taylor assumed the post as ambassador, through October. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker about the freezing of U.S. security aid to Ukraine. Taylor, as the current acting ambassador to Ukraine, is in a difficult and delicate position testifying Tuesday, the source said. Taylor then met with Pompeo, State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl and Volker at the department at the end of May.

The Trump administration did not comply with document request deadlines Tuesday for the Office of Management and Budget, the vice president or the Department of Defense. In its impeachment investigation, the House Judiciary Committee struggled to obtain testimony from Trump administration witnesses even after they had left the administration. When they did, the witnesses refused to answer questions about their time at the White House. In one extreme example, former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks refused to even tell investigators where her West Wing office was located because it pertained to her time in the White House. After the White House directed her not to appear, the committees responded with a subpoena to compel her appearance, which she complied with.

Perry had led the delegation who attended Zelensky's inauguration, and was a central figure in the May meeting with Trump. It became clear to the Trump administration officials, the sources said, that they would have to deal with Giuliani. Perry acknowledged speaking to Giuliani, according to an Energy Department spokesperson. When asked if he had ever spoken to Perry about Ukraine, Giuliani responded by dismissing the question. "Did Henry Kissinger ever call me about Ukraine," Giuliani wrote to CNN on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff on Tuesday called the State Department's blocking testimony of a key witness "strong evidence of obstruction" of Democrats' impeachment investigation, and the move is prompting House Democrats to issue a subpoena for the testimony in response. "Ambassador Sondland is profoundly disappointed that he will not be able to testify today. Ambassador Sondland traveled to Washington from Brussels in order to prepare for his testimony and to be available to answer the Committee's questions." The department also missed a Friday deadline set by House Democrats to respond to a subpoena and turn over documents related to Ukraine. "The text message that I saw from Ambassador Sondland -- who's highly respected -- was: There's 'no quid pro quo.'

(CNN) - Former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker, who has become a key player in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, announced Monday he is stepping down as executor director of Arizona State University's McCain Institute. Amid rumors that he was planning to step down, Volker told staff at the institute last week that he had no imminent plans to resign. Volker said it was whatever is best for the McCain Institute, the source said. Cindy McCain, the late Sen. John McCain's widow who also serves as chairwoman of the institute's board of trustees, on Monday thanked Volker in a statement "for his dedication and hard work in helping to build the McCain Institute into the results-driven, action-oriented institution that it is today." The McCain Institute "implements programs and initiatives aimed at making a difference in people's lives across a range of critical areas: leadership development, human rights, rule of law, national security, counterterrorism and combating human trafficking," according to the statement announcing Volker's departure.

VOA [Public domain](CNN) - Former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker explained in his opening statement to Congress that he connected the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani with Ukraine's leadership in an effort to convince Giuliani and, through him, President Donald Trump there was new leadership in Ukraine that could be trusted. Volker said that Trump was "skeptical" of Ukraine's leadership, which he said was understandable given the country's history of corruption, but he also added that the president suggested that Ukraine "tried to take me down," a reference to the unproven allegations that Ukraine was involved in the 2016 election meddling. "He said that Ukraine was a corrupt country, full of 'terrible people,'" Volker said of Trump. It was clear to me that despite the positive news and recommendations being conveyed by this official delegation about the new President, President Trump had a deeply rooted negative view on Ukraine rooted in the past. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe or Hunter Biden in Ukraine.

"The message to the Ukrainians (and Russians) we send with the decision on security assistance is key. Thus, my nightmare scenario," Taylor wrote on Sept. 9. "As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign," he added. "Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting conditioned on investigations?" "The nightmare is they give the interview and don't get the security assistance.

Volker provided Congress with the text messages ahead of his closed-door congressional testimony on Thursday before three committees leading the House's impeachment inquiry into Trump and Ukraine. Volker and Sondland then exchanged text messages about the draft, which Volker said he would share with an adviser to Zelensky. The source explained the context of the statement about the investigation after the discussion was included in the text messages provided to Congress ahead of Volker's testimony. 'it's crazy to withhold security assistance'Ahead of the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky, the text messages show how Giuliani was pushing for the call and for Zelensky to talk up the investigation. The President is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President Zelensky promised during his campaign."

The complaint labels Giuliani as a "central figure" in the controversy. US officials were concerned, the whistleblower said, with Giuliani and his contacts with Ukrainian officials. Speaking to CNN last week, Giuliani said he has "no knowledge of any of that crap" in the complaint. Analysts previously told CNN that Volker's testimony could be damaging to the President and his allies. "It's possible others, including key administration members like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr would also be forced out."

What remains unclear is if the documents were cleared by the State Department to be handed over, or if they are considered Volker's personal documents. The State Department did not respond to CNN's request for comment. The State Department said this summer that Volker put Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Andriy Yermak in contact with Giuliani, at Yermak's request. But almost a week later, Pompeo and the State Department have said nothing on the record about Volker's resignation. But Volker, who worked as a special representative on a part-time, volunteer basis, didn't have a close relationship with the White House.

Drew Angerer/2017 Getty Images(CNN) - The State Department inspector general is briefing congressional staff Wednesday afternoon after requesting an urgent meeting to share documents related to the State Department and Ukraine. Linick's request was sent to Congress on Tuesday after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed back on Democrats' demands to interview State Department officials as part of the impeachment investigation. The State Department inspector general has already been investigating allegations of "improper personnel practices in the office of the Secretary," though he has yet to release the findings the probe. Volker, who was named in the whistleblower complaint about Ukraine, resigned last week and is no longer a State Department employee. The committees have also scheduled depositions with three other State Department officials next week, although it's not yet been confirmed that they will appear.

Getty Images(CNN) - The House committees investigating President Donald Trump and Ukraine have delayed one of the depositions planned for this week, but former US special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker will appear on Thursday, according to an aide. The committee will also meet with Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson on Friday on the subject. Yovanovitch and Volker were two of the five depositions that the committees have scheduled during the next two weeks while Congress is on recess. Volker, however, is no longer a State Department official after he resigned last week following the release of the whistleblower complaint and transcript of the President's call. The-CNN-Wire & 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company.

(CNN) - President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Sunday said he spoke last week with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Giuliani's meeting with a Ukrainian official, adding that Pompeo didn't direct him to have those meeting. Pompeo was aware that his department was assisting Giuliani in speaking with an aide to the Ukrainian president, explains a source familiar with the conversations. When asked last week about Giuliani's efforts, Pompeo said the State Department's actions were "appropriate." "From what I've seen so far, each of the actions that were undertaken by State Department officials was entirely appropriate," he said. CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment about Pompeo's speaking to Giuliani.

Getty Images(CNN) - There's a growing sense of alarm in Ukraine that it will be the victim of any prolonged political crisis in the United States over President Trump's controversial contacts with the new Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky. The first sign of trouble came with the resignation of the US special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker. Andriy Yermak, a top aide to President Zelensky, told CNN Saturday that Volker's "consistent and comprehensive support for Ukraine throughout his tenure means a lot for our country." US military aid to Ukraine this year amounts to nearly $400 million, part of a program to rebuild the Ukrainian military so it can better counter pro-Russian separatists that control parts of eastern Ukraine. Zelensky told Trump on the call that Ukraine wanted to buy more Javelin anti-tank missiles.

VOA [Public domain]WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker plans to appear at his deposition next Thursday in front of the House Foreign Affairs committee, according to a source familiar with his plans. The source would not say if the White House is seeking to use executive privilege to constrict Volker in terms of what he can say or provide. Volker's appearance before the committee was announced just hours before the news broke Friday evening that he had resigned. Depositions are generally closed door, but the committee has not clarified if Volker's deposition will be open or closed. Generally, there is not much love lost for Volker by White House officials, whom another source says "was never fully on the Trump train."

VOA [Public domain](CNN) - Kurt Volker, US special envoy to Ukraine, has resigned one day after the release of a whistleblower report alleging a coverup by the White House of a call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President, three sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN. "We still expect to hear everything he knows about this scandal," said a congressional aide familiar with the deposition plans. Giuliani said Volker informed him that the phone call between Trump and Zelensky went well. "As discussed, connecting you here with Andrey Yermak, who is very close to President Zelensky. A State Department spokesperson said in an August statement that Volker put Yermak in contact with Giuliani.