Despite the ceasefire, sporadic fighting between government troops and pro-Russian rebels continues in eastern Ukraine, after more than 18 months of combat and almost 8,000 deaths, a lot of them civilians.
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Ukrainian linemen connected one of the four power lines on Tuesday morning, after the Crimean Tatar protesters who had blocked utility crews’ access to the sites relented – so power could be provided to critically important facilities, such as hospitals and schools, they said.
According to the information provided by the White House, during Biden’s visit it’s planned to assure the members of the Ukrainian government and the supporters of reform in Ukraine of “further strong support for the USA in the face of continued Russian military intervention”.
But the official said Biden also will emphasize the need for Ukraine to implement anti-corruption measures.
He said this while delivering speech at the Parliament of Ukraine.
All electricity supplies from mainland Ukraine to Crimea were cut off on November 22 when unknown attackers blew up electricity pylons leading to Crimea, leaving the region of 2 million with no power.
Biden used both his meeting Monday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Tuesday’s parliamentary appearance to drive home the message that Washington remained fully committed to Kiev despite the recent shift in global attention to Syria.
These funds also will support the critical role of civil society and independent media, as well as the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission as it monitors and verifies agreements in the conflict areas of eastern Ukraine.
Yet Biden arrives in a rustic whose morale is sagging due to Poroshenko’s seeming incapability to erase the corruption that has ravaged Ukraine for a lot of its current historical past.
Analysts say the main problem rests in the government’s failure to break the hold big business has enjoyed over much of Ukrainian politics for more than 20 years.
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“There’s a growing degree of popular frustration about the slow pace of the reforms and the efforts to root out corruption”, Biden warned. In June, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatseniuk met with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to discuss an additional tranche of 1 billion dollars to support Ukrainian reforms in order to increase Ukraine’s investment attractiveness and lay foundations for its economic growth. In this regard, it is also expected he will reassure Ukrainian leaders that any USA communication with Russian Federation over Syria’s situation will not impact its position concerning Ukraine. “Let me be crystal clear – the United States does not, will not, never will recognise Russia’s attempt to annex the Crimea”, said Biden.
