Ukraine’s Poroshenko on charm offensive, US agrees to non-lethal aid

World Today

Petro PoroshenkoUkraine’s President Petro Poroshenko greets Ukraine rights activists taking part in a rally at Lafayette Square across from the White House in Washington, DC on September 18, 2014. AFP PHOTO / Mandel NGAN

Ukraine’s President Poroshenko visited Washington Thursday in what’s been dubbed a charm offensive. He mission: to request U.S. military aid to turn back the Russian-backed separatists. CCTV America’s Jessica Stone reports.

Before meeting with U.S. President Obama, Poroshenko gave an impassioned plea before a joint meeting of Congress, asking for lethal and non-lethal aid. Despite Poroshenko’s urgent request, the U.S. stopped short of fulfilling it. Instead, the White House said it would provide $46 million in new security assistance to Ukraine’s militia

For the latest on the Ukrainian President’s visit to the United States and the crisis in Ukraine, CCTV America spoke to Jorge Benitez, an expert at the Atlantic Council on NATO and transatlantic relations and European politics.