Advertisement

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrives in U.S.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrived in Washington Thursday, and is expected to seek additional assistance from the U.S., to include lethal weapons.

By JC Finley
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko seen here during an Independence Day military parade in Kiev on August 24, 2014. UPI/Ivan Vakolenko
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko seen here during an Independence Day military parade in Kiev on August 24, 2014. UPI/Ivan Vakolenko | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrived in Washington Thursday for a series of meetings with U.S. officials.

He was scheduled to meet in the morning with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department before addressing a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. EDT.

Advertisement

Prior to the Ukrainian delegation's departure for the U.S., Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin described the public sentiment in Ukraine regarding U.S. aid to Ukraine during the ongoing crisis.

"There is a sense, and I have to be honest about it, in the Ukrainian public and Ukrainian society that both the U.S. and EU are not doing enough to support the Ukrainian crisis... The people feel themselves on the front of a real fight for European values, for freedom."

To date, the U.S. has offered $60 million in nonlethal aid, including food rations, body armor and communications equipment, and in September conducted two military exercises in Ukraine.

Advertisement

Poroshenko is expected to seek additional assistance from the U.S. as the Ukrainian government seeks to regain control of its embattled eastern region.

Some U.S. lawmakers, such as Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) have expressed support for providing Ukraine with lethal aid in the form of ammunition and surface-to-air missiles.

President Barack Obama, with whom Poroshenko is scheduled to meet during his visit, has not shown a willingness to provide lethal support to Ukraine.

Latest Headlines