US President Barack Obama’s administration is preparing to ratchet up sanctions on Russia and boost assistance for the Ukrainian military in the coming days, US officials said on Wednesday, as Kiev struggles to contain a pro-Moscow uprising in its eastern cities.
The officials said they had no plans to levy new sanctions ahead of yesterday’s talks in Geneva, Switzerland, between the US, Russia, Ukraine and the EU. Yet with expectations for a breakthrough in those meetings low, they have already prepared targets for sanctions that include wealthy individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the entities they control.
It was unclear whether such sanctions would change Putin’s calculus given that the US and EU have already launched sanctions targeted at his inner circle.
“Each time Russia takes these kinds of steps that are designed to destabilize Ukraine and violate their sovereignty, there are going to be consequences,” Obama said in an interview with CBS News. “Mr Putin’s decisions aren’t just bad for Ukraine, over the long-term, they’re going to be bad for Russia.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Wednesday for the talks, which are also expected to touch on the West’s efforts to help stabilize Ukraine’s economy with an anticipated loan from the IMF.
The fund’s finance ministers this week endorsed a loan package ranging from US$14 billion to US$18 billion to stave off a financial crisis.
Washington is also working on a package of non-lethal assistance for Ukraine’s armed forces that is expected to be finalized this week and may include medical supplies and clothing, but is likely to stop short of providing body armor and other military equipment.
When Kiev asked Washington for military assistance, the request is believed to have included lethal aid like weapons and ammunition. Yet Obama administration officials said they were not considering supplying such assistance because that could be viewed as an escalatory act.
“We don’t want to see more escalation. What we want is de-escalation,” US Department of State spokeswoman Marie Harf said. “At the same time, we’re constantly reviewing Ukrainian requests for assistance and determining what’s most appropriate to provide.”
Some critics of the Obama administration have been pressing the US president to arm the Ukrainian military to bolster Kiev’s efforts to reassert control over its eastern areas from pro-Russian insurgents who have seized numerous government facilities.
US Senator John McCain said last weekend that the least Washington could do was “give them some light weapons with which to defend themselves.”
US assistance to the Ukraine’s armed forces has so far been limited to about 300,000 ready-to-eat meals shipped late last month. Washington has also authorized a US$1 billion loan guarantee for the fledgling government in Kiev.
Ukraine’s military launched its first actions against pro-Russian forces on Tuesday, but Kiev’s hopes of re-establishing control over the east were dampened when the insurgents commandeered six Ukrainian armored vehicles along with their crews and hoisted Russian flags over them.
The West is also warily watching the 40,000 Russian troops massed on its border with Ukraine that US officials say they believe Putin put there to give him the option to invade, but that has not yet made a decision on whether to do so.
Officials said a full-scale invasion of eastern Ukraine would result in broad US and EU sanctions on key Russian economic sectors, including its powerful energy industry.
The US is also seeking to show its support for the Ukrainian government ahead of elections on May 25, with US Vice President Joe Biden set to visit Kiev next week.
CIA Director John Brennan met officials in the Ukrainian capital over the weekend, but the secret trip was quickly revealed by Russian media, who cast the visit as evidence that the US was behind Kiev’s decision to take action against the pro-Kremlin forces.
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