Biden makes trip to Ukraine in sign of U.S. support
- 9 years ago
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrives at Borispol airport outside Kiev, Ukraine on Monday, Dec. 7, 2014.
Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists has significantly diminished since early September, after killing some 8,000 people since April 2014, but tensions remain high because of unresolved questions about the final political status of the rebel regions in the east.
Since Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30, Ukrainian officials have worried that their own country's troubles would fade from view, especially if the West begins cooperating with Russia to fight the Islamic State group.
Biden's meetings on Monday with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and a Tuesday speech at the Ukrainian parliament are intended to counter this concern.
Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists has significantly diminished since early September, after killing some 8,000 people since April 2014, but tensions remain high because of unresolved questions about the final political status of the rebel regions in the east.
Since Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30, Ukrainian officials have worried that their own country's troubles would fade from view, especially if the West begins cooperating with Russia to fight the Islamic State group.
Biden's meetings on Monday with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and a Tuesday speech at the Ukrainian parliament are intended to counter this concern.