KIEV, Ukraine -- On the 26th anniversary of Ukraine's independence from Moscow, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis accused Russia of menacing Europe and indicated he favors providing Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons.
Mattis also said President Donald Trump's administration will not accept Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
After attending an independence day parade, Mattis met with President Petro Poroshenko and other government leaders. He is the first Pentagon chief to visit the former Soviet republic since Robert Gates in 2007.
"Have no doubt," Mattis said at a news conference with Poroshenko, "the United States stands with Ukraine." He said Washington does not, "and we will not," accept Russia's annexation of Crimea, a 2014 action that was followed by Russian military intervention in support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Mattis was blunt in his criticism of Russia and said his presence in Kiev is intended as a statement of the depth of American commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty.
"Despite Russia's denials, we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force," an ambition by Moscow that the secretary said is undermining sovereign European nations and stirring tension.
Asked whether he agrees with former President Barack Obama's administration's view that selling defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine would provoke Moscow, Mattis replied, "Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you're an aggressor."
A Section on 08/25/2017