Vice President Joe Biden is in Kiev, Ukraine today, and as you might imagine the visit focused on condemnation of neighboring Russia. But Biden didn’t show up empty-handed, pledging $58 million more in US aid for the nation.

This round of US aid will mostly be centered on the upcoming Ukrainian national election, which aims to formalize the regime change imposed by violent protests last month.

Biden spent the rest of the time vowing the US would “never recognize” Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, and demanding Russia forcibly compel eastern Ukrainians, many of whom are ethnic Russians, to stop protesting for increased autonomy.

Biden went on to threaten “increasingly harsh” sanctions against Russia if the protests continue, something State Department officials were saying yesterday. Russia insists it can’t actually force protesters in another country not to protest, and insists the US is dramatically over-estimating its influence.