WASHINGTON, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - The United States has not decided yet on the weapons provision to Ukraine and hopes the conflict will be solved by political means, US President Barack Obama said.
“What we have been providing – a whole host of assistance packages to the Ukrainian government and to their military. And we will continue to work with them to evaluate on a day by day, week by week basis what exactly they need in order to be able to defend their country,” Obama said at the press conference in Washington. “But the best thing we can do for Ukraine is to try to get back on the political track.”
Last week, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby announced that the US was planning to spend $19 million in 2015 on training and equipment of the Ukrainian National Guard “as part of their efforts to build their capacity for internal defense.”
Since mid-April, Kiev has been conducting a special military operation in the east of Ukraine to suppress the independence supporters who refused to recognize the legitimacy of the country’s new authorities. The violence intensified after the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics declared independence from Ukraine in May. Moscow has described the ongoing military action as a punitive operation and called for immediate end to bloodshed.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said last week that the conduct of the special military operation costs the country 70 million hryvnias ($5.8 million) every day. In the meantime, Ukraine faces a tough economic situation, and receives international financial help. Kiev earlier said that the country’s treasury was empty and announced that the government would be cutting back costs. In particular, Kiev developed a sequestration of the budget that applies cuts to social benefits.
