U.S. could offer USD 50 mln in additional support, Biden says in Kyiv

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Kyiv on April 23-24, during which he met with Ukrainian political and civic leaders and reaffirm them of U.S. support. The U.S. will offer “significant aid” to ensure that the May 25 presidential election is held transparently, with the appropriate level of monitoring, so that no one doubts their legitimacy. No nation is supposed to threaten another by placing its soldiers near a border and destabilize its internal affairs, he said. “We want Russia to not support people who hide behind masks, dress in military uniforms and take over buildings in eastern Ukraine, and we’d like to say that more provocative behavior from Russia will lead to greater isolation,” he said.

The U.S. government is ready to allocate an additional USD 50 mln for political and economic reforms in Ukraine, Biden said. The U.S. government will also help the Ukrainian government is returning stolen assets, he said.

The Pentagon announced on April 23 that U.S. Army paratroopers are arriving in Poland to begin a series of military exercises in four eastern European countries to offer support after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March.  They exercises will last a month, initially involving 600 soldiers, said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby.

Zenon Zawada: We expect the Russians to dispatch some military detachments to eastern Ukraine in the next two weeks, where the local population will likely ignore the May 25 election and cast doubt on its legitimacy, at least in the view of Russia and its allies. The U.S. is keeping its direct support for Ukraine out of the military realm, which is understandable from the U.S. viewpoint but only encouraging the Russians, who are betting that the West isn’t going to raise the stakes in Ukraine. Unfortunately, all the financial aid may prove fleeting if the Ukrainian government isn’t able to stabilize its southeastern regions in the coming months.