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Dear Hunter, Devon & Eric,
Below is an article written by Sally published in US News that we wanted to share with you -
Don't Forget About Ukraine
While the world focuses on Syria, we can't leave Ukraine vulnerable to Russian aggression.
By Sally Painter Dec. 10, 2015 | 3:30 p.m. EST

In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, the eyes of the world are fixated upon Syria, as leaders grapple with the country's civil war, a huge refugee crisis and the fight against the Islamic State group. As attention turns to the Middle East, however, the guns have not gone silent in Ukraine, where repeated violations of a shaky ceasefire have escalated in recent days.

Now more than ever, as Russian President Vladimir Putin pleads for an "anti-terrorist coalition" in Syria, it is imperative that the U.S. not forget Ukraine. Instead, we must send a strong signal to Putin that we will not tolerate his aggression on any front, nor will we abandon Ukraine in exchange for cooperation in Syria. The best way the United States can do that is to dramatically step up its assistance to Ukraine.

The Obama administration has recently taken several steps in the right direction. Vice President Joe Biden made a trip to Ukraine this week, where he spoke to the Verkhovna Rada, met with civil society activists and Ukraine's political leadership and reaffirmed America's commitment to Ukraine's security and sovereignty. Biden told Ukrainians, "The United States stands firmly with the people of Ukraine in the face of continued - and I emphasize continued - aggression from Russia and Russian-backed separatists."

The administration has also sent promising signals with the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act, which allotted $300 million in security assistance to Ukraine, and Obama's decision in September to ship long-range counterbattery radars to Ukraine. Still, the administration can and should do much more to demonstrate its commitment.

First, the United States needs to increase its economic assistance to help Ukraine responsibly meet its obligations and implement much-needed internal reforms. As the vice president wraps up his visit to Ukraine and appropriators on Capitol Hill prepare for a Dec. 11 budget deadline, the time is ripe to step up the American commitment to Ukraine. The U.S. has already provided several loan guarantees to Ukraine this year, but the U.S. should commit to a $3 billion assistance package of loan guarantees, direct budget support grants and debt swaps.

These measures should be linked to reforms in Ukraine's government, banking and energy sectors. Corruption and insolvency remain serious threats to the survival of the Ukrainian state, and a policy of U.S. assistance conditioned on reform promises to address both issues. In the short term, economic assistance will help Ukraine stay on its feet and pay back its debts. In the long term, reforms in corrupt sectors will put Ukraine on track to become an accountable, well-functioning European state - which was the dream of the Maidan activists in the first place.

Second, the Obama administration should provide $1 billion in military assistance, as authorized by the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014. This military assistance can take many forms. Ukraine has long requested defensive lethal assistance, and the administration should certainly consider sending Javelin anti-tank missiles as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has specifically requested. Still, much can be done short of lethal weapons. Provisions for American-supplied radars, armor, Humvees, drones, communications systems and U.S. training of Ukrainian troops should all be part of the package, in order to increase Ukraine's deterrent capability and improve its position vis-à-vis the separatists.

Third, the administration should authorize at least $200 million of additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This figure corresponds with the funding shortage identified by the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which is doing valuable work on the ground to assist Ukraine's 1.5 million internally displaced persons.

Finally, Ukraine also needs assistance with countering Russian propaganda, which is widespread in the country's east and spreads a false narrative about the conflict and the government in Kiev. The U.S. should allocate $50 million to develop a strategy to fight Russia's information war, empowering trusted nongovernmental actors to provide accurate media content to Russian speakers in the country's east.

These are among the demands made in an October 29 letter to Congress by the Central and East European Coalition's Ukraine Working Group. The letter's diverse signatories, including diaspora groups from Poland, Hungary and the Baltics, indicate that Russia's aggression poses a threat far beyond Ukraine. So, too, should our support of Ukraine be backed by a broader strategy to bolster the security of neighboring countries. Along these lines, the U.S. should begin by boosting security assistance to Georgia and Moldova and expanding NATO deployments to the Baltics and other vulnerable NATO members. Together with substantial new aid to Ukraine, such steps would send a firm message that the U.S. is not willing to retreat from the region.

Vladimir Putin is counting on the U.S. not taking these steps - he expects to change the conversation and extract concessions on Ukraine in exchange for Russian cooperation in Syria. The U.S. should not take the bait. Rather, it should lead the charge in supporting Ukraine.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2015/12/10/putin-is-counting-on-a-distracted-us-to-step-up-his-aggression-in-ukraine

Pero Jolevski
Blue Star Strategies

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