KIEV: Ukraine has said that it needs to be militarily and economically supported from the United States in its standoff with Russia.
“We need a strong and solid state. We need financial and economic support. We need to modernize our security and military forces. We need the real support,” the Ukrainian acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said ahead of a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden to Ukraine this week.
The Ukrainian acting premier accused the Russian President Vladimir Putin of undermining global stability and nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and claimed that Moscow is now not only a threat to Ukraine and the EU and but the world.
“How can you stop the nuclear-powered state, which is Russian Federation, that spent billions of dollars to modernize their military instead of Ukraine?” Yatsenyuk asked.
“And it’s crystal clear that for today Russia… is the threat to the globe and the threat to the European Union and a real threat to Ukraine.”
Yatsenyuk further said that that in addition to financial and economic support, his country needs US help to renovate its military.
“We need to be in very good shape in order to stop Russia. And for this shape, we need to have and to get the real support from our Western partners.”
“We need financial, economic support. We need to modernize Ukrainian military and to overhaul all structures of Ukrainian defense system.”