Image by Claude TRUONG-NGOC

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with U.S. President Donald Trump today in New York and said in a later interview that Trump agreed to provide defensive weapons to Ukraine, along with military technical assistance. The comments were made during an exclusive interview with Fox Business.

Merkel Says Sanctions To Be Lifted Once Ceasefire In Donbass Implemented

“Today, President Trump said we are ready to support Ukraine, including with military and technical cooperation,” Ukrainian leader Poroshenko told FOX Business’ Liz Claman.

Today Trump also approved the sale of American coal and steel to Ukraine, which has seen its internal production of the commodities slump due to the conflict in the Donbass region in East Ukraine.

If We Don’t Understand Crimean History, We May Repeat It

Poroshenko had choice words for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was blindsided by the invasion of Crimea and the war in the east. “He’s completely unpredictable,” he told Fox Business.

The war in East Ukraine and the loss of the Crimean peninsula has severely crippled Ukraine’s economy, although GDP has started slowly growing again, albeit coming off a very hard landing. However, the main problem facing Ukraine now is corruption and the government’s inability to completely root it out. The IMF has refused to release more of the $17.5 billion already approved until Kyiv does more to implement reforms.