Eastern Ukraine is in a “dire” security situation and Russia is failing “miserably” in its seriousness to negotiate an end to the crisis, a senior U.S. State Department official said Thursday.
The official, who spoke to CNN on board U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s plane en route to Kiev, also warned of a “grave acceleration of the fighting on the ground” in Ukraine.
The official said Russia is “failing the test miserably” as to whether it is serious about negotiations. The Russian people are “paying for this imperial adventure,” the official said.
Kerry is due to meet with Ukrainian leaders including President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
His visit comes amid a worsening of the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, which is claiming a growing number of civilian lives.
French President Francois Hollande announced that both he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will also travel to Kiev on Thursday to meet Poroshenko.
They will then go on to Moscow on Friday to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of fostering the conflict by sending military personnel and equipment over the border into Ukraine. Moscow denies the claims and says it supports a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Urgently needed aid
Kerry announced Thursday that the U.S. government intends to provide $16.4 million in new humanitarian aid to help Ukrainians affected by the violence.
“The funding will be used to support the Ukrainian government’s response to the crisis caused by Russia’s aggressive actions and will also help alleviate the suffering of people in conflict-affected areas of eastern Ukraine, including Donetsk and Luhansk,” a State Department statement said.
“Many of these people are extremely vulnerable and unable to leave.”
The aid will include blankets, bedding, warm clothing, and other support, the statement said. The latest aid takes the total provided to Ukraine by the United States since the conflict broke out last spring to $38 million, it added.