By M. Bilal Kenasari
WASHINGTON
The U.S. will provide $75 million of nonlethal defensive security assistance to Ukraine, a senior Obama administration official said Wednesday.
"Vice President (Joe) Biden informed President (Petro) Poroshenko today that President (Barack) Obama has approved the allocation of $75 million in Department of Defense European Reassurance Initiative funds to provide additional nonlethal equipment to Ukraine," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The president has also approved the provision to Ukraine of 30 armored Humvees and up to 200 unarmored Humvees … to enhance the mobility of Ukrainian armed forces."
The funds will be used to provide secure communications equipment, counter-mortar radars, night vision devices, and medical supplies, including military ambulances, according to the official.
Biden "noted with concern the ongoing violations of the cease-fire by Russia-backed separatists near Donetsk and Mariupol and their refusal to allow OSCE monitors unfettered access to the territory they occupy," according to a White House statement released Wednesday.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, is a Vienna-based intergovernmental agency focused on security.
The Republican-controlled U.S. Congress has pushed the White House to supply arms to Ukraine but the Obama administration has so far resisted.
The White House said last month that providing assistance to Ukraine in an attempt to put its military on par with the Russian military is "unrealistic."
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said media coverage leaves the impression that the U.S. has not provided military assistance to Ukraine.
"It is important to note that the United States has already provided $118 million in security assistance to help Ukraine in their ongoing efforts," he added.
US issues new sanctions on pro-Russian separatists
The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions against pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and other Russian supporters.
The sanctions are against eight Ukrainian separatists, a Russian pro-separatist organization and three of its leaders, a Russian bank operating in Crimea and three former Ukrainian officials, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was also included on the list because of the “misappropriation of state assets of Ukraine."
The new round of sanctions are a result of violations of two Minsk agreements signed last September and last month.
The Treasury Department said the sanctions follow similar action by the European Union and Canada. “We continue to work to remain in lock step with our international partners in our efforts to incentivize a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Ukraine,” according to the statement.
"All the individuals and entities designated today are blocked. Their property and interests in property within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from doing business with them.”
The agreement inked Sept. 5, sought to halt the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine. But fighting broke out shortly afterward as each side accused the other of cease-fire violations.
Following a Feb. 12 cease-fire accord, which stipulated the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from combat areas, the U.S. released a series of images that showed Russian heavy equipment inside Ukraine.
Despite the evidence, Moscow denied arming the separatists.
