Quoting pro-Kyiv military blogger Dmitriy Tymchuk:
More extended quotes from U.S. President Barack Obama and European Council President Donald Tusk during their meeting in Washington on Monday.
Obama: "We are all committed to making sure that we uphold the basic principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that have been threatened by Russian aggression. We have been able to maintain strong unity with respect to sanctions. We very much appreciate the work that's been done by [German] Chancellor Angela Merkel and [French] President Francois Holland to establish a Minsk process but we also know from experiences over the last year that, unless we have strong monitoring and strong implementation, that these agreements will be meaningless."
Obama: "Part of what we will be discussing is how do we make sure that we are able to monitor effectively what's happening on the ground in Ukraine and how can we continue to maintain pressure on Russia, on the separatists, to abide by these agreements."
Tusk: Today, we can see with full clarity that they are trying to divide us inside of Europe as well as Europe and America. But when we are united we will be able to put a stop to the aggressive policy of Russia against its neighbors."
Tusk: "Of course we need a balanced result of negotiations for sure and we have to convince our public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic. But we have strong arguments and I believe that 2015 will be a crucial year in this process because in fact TTIP is not only about trade but also about [the] chance of growth, jobs and also it's about geopolitical security and our transatlantic cooperation."
From dpa:
US President Barack Obama and European Council President Donald Tusk Monday called for unity on Ukraine and discussed Europe's security challenges, including terrorism.
Obama saluted German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande for their work in establishing the Minsk cease-fire process.
"But we also know from experiences over the last year that unless we have strong monitoring and strong implementation, that these agreements will be meaningless," Obama said at the Oval Office meeting.
The EU and U.S. have moved hand in hand on sanctions against Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine, but Tusk said earlier in an interview with The New York Times that the European Union was not yet ready for a new round of tighter sanctions against Russia.
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Monday, March 9, 2015. Please check back here tomorrow morning for our continuing coverage.
Just in from AFP and Reuters:
Ukraine president says 64 soldiers killed since Feb 15 ceasefire
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Ukraine's Poroshenko says rebels have withdrawn significant amount of heavy weapons
KIEV, March 9 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday pro-Russian rebels had withdrawn a significant amount of weaponry from the front-lines in eastern Ukraine in accordance with a three-week-old ceasefire deal.
"There is a ceasefire, or there isn't. It depends on how you look at it. You can say that we managed to halt the offensive drive off the aggressor. Ukraine has withdrawn the lion's share of its rocket and heavy artillery systems. The Russian-backed fighters have also withdrawn a significant amount," Poroshenko said in a televised interview.
Just in from AP:
Obama, European Council president meet on Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and European Council President Donald Tusk are holding an Oval Office meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
In brief remarks ahead of their talks, Obama says trans-Atlantic unity is as strong as it has ever been. He singled out the U.S. and Europe's united stance on the economic sanctions that have been levied on Ukraine.
Tusk says Russia is trying to divide the West. The U.S. and Europe have warned Russia that the West could levy additional sanctions if Moscow continues to support a rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
Obama and Tusk also plan to discuss the status of a potential trade agreement between the U.S. and Europe.