Ukraine prime minister to seek U.S. military aid

Russia has deployed a force of 220,000 troops, 1,800 tanks and more than 400 helicopters close to Ukraine’s border. Ukraine has about 41,000 troops, of which only 6,000 were “combat ready,” Ukraine’s acting defense minister, Ihor Tenyukh, told the national parliament Tuesday.

Ukraine’s interim government leader, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, was headed to Washington for talks today with President Barack Obama. Yatsenyuk is expected to ask for aid for his country’s armed forces. But U.S. officials said they were continuing to instead focus on using sanctions and diplomatic pressure to persuade Russia to pull back from Crimea.