Obama Reaffirms Commitment to Ukraine
President Barack Obama has offered additional security assistance to Ukraine in its standoff with Russia. Speaking Thursday at the White House following talks with visiting President Petro Poroshenko at his side, Obama announced an additional $53 million in fresh aid to Ukraine - $46 million to bolster Ukraine's security and $7 million in humanitarian aid. Obama praised the Ukrainian leader for brokering a recent cease-fire in the conflict in the county’s east and for pushing through legislation granting areas controlled by pro-Russia rebels broader self-rule. Affirming once again that Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are not negotiable, Obama said that…
Russia Forces Cross Border, Surround Strategic Ukrainian Town
President Barack Obama on Thursday pointedly pinned blame for the violence roiling eastern Ukraine on Moscow, as Russian armored vehicles backed by artillery strikes reportedly surrounded a strategic border town. The seizure of Novoazovsk, which sits astride a major highway leading from the Russian border through southern Ukraine to the Crimean peninsula, appeared to involve both separatists and Russian forces, indicating that Moscow was backing an outright invasion of Ukrainian territory. With NATO asserting that roughly 1,000 Russian troops were operating inside eastern Ukraine and an offensive fighting force of at least 20,000 more poised on the border, the alliance…