Biden: Russia seeks Ukraine’s collapse

WASHINGTON – U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden has accused Russia of trying to destabilize Ukraine “by any means it can,” saying the Kremlin wants to see the economy of its neighbor crumble. “Russia’s trying to undermine the stability and the sovereignty of Ukraine by any means it can, including its attempt to create conditions that will cause Ukraine to economically collapse,” Mr. Biden told U.S. and Ukrainian officials and business leaders in Washington on July 13. “That’s [Russia’s] first preference,” he added. “But we can’t let that strategy succeed.” Mr. Biden delivered the comments in a speech to the inaugural U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum, an event co-hosted by the U.S. Commerce Department aimed at fostering U.S. investment in the Ukrainian economy, which has been ravaged by Kyiv’s war with Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country. Mr. Biden repeated allegations by Kyiv, Washington and their allies in Brussels that Moscow is backing the rebels, saying Ukraine is “now under siege.” He said, “Russia is building military outposts on Ukrainian soil,” adding, “It relentlessly continues to send Russian troops, Russian hired thugs and mercenaries, Russian tanks and Russian missiles into numerous parts of Ukraine, but particularly the Donbas.” The vice-president also urged Ukraine to enact reforms, crack down on endemic corruption and improve transparency in order to lure investors to the country, saying the leadership in Kyiv has a small window of opportunity to secure greater integration with the West. “This may be the last genuine opportunity the people of Ukraine have to establish a democratic republic in a way that is economically prosperous and fully integrated within Europe,” he told the forum. The audience included senior Ukrainian officials, including Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko, both of whom addressed the forum earlier in the day. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Voice of America and Bloomberg)