U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis: White House 'Actively Reviewing' Sending Weapons To Ukraine

Reuters: Defense Secretary Mattis promises support to Ukraine, says reviewing lethal aid

KIEV (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on a visit to Ukraine on Thursday said Washington would keep up pressure on Russia over what he called its aggressive behavior and signaled his personal support for providing weapons to Kiev.

Mattis said Russia had not abided by the Minsk ceasefire agreement meant to end the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine and that the United States would maintain sanctions on Moscow.

"Despite Russia's denials, we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force, undermining the sovereign and free nations of Europe," Mattis told reporters, alongside Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Mattis's visit, timed for Ukrainian Independence Day, is the second high-profile show of U.S. support in as many months, after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson came to Kiev in July.

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WNU Editor: When I read these statements from US Defense Secretary Mattis I cannot help but ponder on how the absence of people like Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn in the White House have produced a U.S. foreign policy that is now openly looking for a confrontation with Russia. Sending weapons and arms to Ukraine is only going to make the Poroshenko government more committed to a military solution that they cannot win .... this is not going to end well.

More News On U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' Remarks That White House 'Actively Reviewing' Sending Weapons To Ukraine

In Kiev, Mattis Says Moscow Wants to Redraw Borders By Force -- Bloomberg
Tough talk on Russia as Poroshenko meets Mattis in Ukraine -- DW
Donald Trump 'actively reviewing' sending weapons to Ukraine after Kiev reports 3,000 Russian troops in country -- Independent
Poroshenko, Mattis holding talks in Kyiv -- Kyiv Post
Pentagon chief in Kiev as Ukraine seeks battlefield weapons -- Digital Journal
Mattis's Mission to Reassure Ukraine -- The Atlantic