U.S. rejects Ukraine request for weapons
Obama agrees to give $53M in nonlethal aid
WASHINGTON – The president of Ukraine came to Washington on Thursday seeking special ally status and lethal aid to fight the Russians. He walked away with neither but declared he was happy to get what he did get, new nonlethal aid.
“I’m getting everything possible,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told reporters outside the White House after he met with President Barack Obama. He added that he had asked Obama to “increase the cooperation” in security and defense and “received a positive answer.”
Poroshenko earlier told a joint session of Congress that failing to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin could put all of Europe at risk. He pledged to stand as a bulwark against an aggressive Russia and thanked the U.S. for its assistance.
He stressed that he wants more weaponry, warning that his “underequipped” army of “young boys” is the only defense against Russian aggression. “Blankets and night-vision goggles are important,” he said. “But one cannot win a war with blankets.”
Members of Congress pushed the administration to provide lethal military aid and ramped up the pressure Thursday. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously to urge tougher sanctions against Russia and $350 million in military aid, including anti-tank, anti-armor weapons and ammunition.
Meeting later with Obama, Poroshenko also asked that the U.S. grant Ukraine a special non-NATO ally designation, such as Japan and Israel have. But he told CNN afterward that Obama turned him down.
Obama said there is already a special status for the level of the cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine and it’s higher than the non-NATO status, Poroshenko said, adding that he was pleased that he “received more than we asked.”
The White House has resisted escalating the conflict with Russia by providing arms, calling instead for the crisis to be resolved diplomatically.
Obama did pledge $53 million in new aid, including body armor, helmets, vehicles, night- and thermal-vision devices and counter-mortar radar equipment that can warn of incoming artillery fire.