Who: The Obama administration
What: Offered $1 billion in aid to Ukraine in energy subsidies
Why: Internal turmoil and the recent riots have driven the country to the brink
What it means: Along with a threat of economic sanctions against Russia, this aid places the United States firmly on the side of a free Ukraine.
KIEV, Ukraine — In a somber show of U.S. support for Ukraine’s new leadership, Secretary of State John Kerry walked the streets Tuesday where more than 80 anti-government protesters were killed last month and promised beseeching crowds that American aid is on the way.
Kerry met in Ukraine with the new government’s acting president, prime minister, foreign minister and top parliamentary officials. Speaking to reporters afterward, Kerry urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stand down and said the U.S. is looking for ways to de-escalate the mounting tensions.
“It is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further,” Kerry said. “It is not appropriate to invade a country and at the end of a barrel of a gun dictate what you are trying to achieve. That is not 21st-century, G-8, major nation behavior.”
Kerry made a pointed distinction between the Ukrainian government and Putin’s.
“The contrast really could not be clearer: determined Ukrainians demonstrating strength through unity, and the Russian government out of excuses, hiding its hand behind falsehoods, intimidation and provocations,” he said. “In the hearts of Ukrainians and the eyes of the world, there is nothing strong about what Russia is doing.”
He said the penalties against Russia are “not something we are seeking to do, it is something Russia is pushing us to do.”
President Barack Obama, visiting a Washington, D.C., school to highlight his new budget, said his administration’s push to punish Putin put the U.S. on “the side of history that, I think, more and more people around the world deeply believe in, the principle that a sovereign people, an independent people, are able to make their own decisions about their own lives. And, you know, Mr. Putin can throw a lot of words out there, but the facts on the ground indicate that right now, he is not abiding by that principle.”
The Obama administration announced a $1 billion energy subsidy package in Washington as Kerry was arriving in Kiev. The fast-moving developments came as the U.S. readied economic sanctions amid worries that Moscow was ready to stretch its military reach further into the mainland of the former Soviet republic.
Kerry headed straight to Institutska Street at the start of an hourslong visit intended to bolster the new government that took over just a week ago when Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych fled. Kerry placed a bouquet of red roses, and twice the Roman Catholic secretary of state made the sign of the cross at a shrine set up to memorialize protesters who were killed during mid-February riots.
“We’re concerned very much; we hope for your help, we hope for your assistance,” a woman shouted as Kerry walked down a misty street lined with tires, plywood, barbed wire and other remnants of the barricades that protesters had stood up to try to keep Yanukovych’s forces from reaching nearby Maidan Square, the heart of the demonstrations.
Piles of flowers brought in honor of the dead provided splashes of color in an otherwise drab day that was still tinged with the smell of smoke.
“We will be helping,” Kerry said. “We are helping. President Obama is planning more assistance.”
Read More
Graduating non-traditional Ball State University students have accomplished more than a degree
By Ella Howell / 5 hours agoBefore sunrise, while most of Ball State University’s campus remains still and quiet, a few early risers start their day to fulfill other commitments: a full-time job, missing a class to care for a sick kid or simply being in a completely new environment. There are many paths students take, and varying experiences bring diverse challenges.
The eyes and ears of the David Owsley Museum of Art
By Madelyn Bracken / YesterdayThe David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) doesn’t only house art. For many Ball State University students, it houses opportunity. Graduate and social media assistant, and former DOMA intern and guard, Taylor Hamblin spent the past two years working at the museum surrounded with possibilities to further her career while at Ball State.
Center for Peace offers academic opportunities
By Meghan Braddy and Grayson Joslin / 2 days agoOver the years, the center has offered a peace studies minor, conflict resolution training and grant funding.
