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April 23, 2014

Ukraine Ends Easter Truce; Biden Visits Kiev 
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Ukraine says it has resumed a military operation against pro-Russian
separatists after a brief pause for the Easter holiday. It is unclear
what steps Ukraine will take after an internationally brokered truce
reached last week called for de-escalation of hostilities. An offensive
by Ukrainian troops also ended in humiliating defeat. The Ukraine
government says it has U.S. backing to root out pro-Russian forces from
eastern towns. The move comes one day after a visit to Kiev by Vice
President Joe Biden. Following a meeting with the Ukrainian prime
minister, Biden said Russia is running out of time to meet its
obligations.

Vice President Joe Biden: "No nation has the right to simply grab land
from another nation. No nation has that right. And we will never
recognize Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea, and neither will the
world. Now it's time for Russia to stop talking and start acting. Act on
the commitments that they made: to get pro-Russian separatists to vacate
buildings and checkpoints, accept amnesty and address their grievances
politically; to get out on the record calling for the release of all
illegally occupied buildings — that's not a hard thing to do; and
to send senior Russian officials to work with the OSCE in the east."

 

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