Ukrainian officials are reacting to the comments by Donald Trump, the U.S. Republican Party's candidate for president, about Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.
In an interview broadcast on July 31, Trump said that, if elected, he would consider recognizing Russia’s forcible annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
Writing on Facebook, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov called the remarks "shameful," adding that "a marginal who support Putin’s dictatorship cannot be a guarantor of democratic freedoms in the U.S. and the world."
Former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called Trump's comments "a challenge to the values of the free world."
"It can hardly be called ignorance,” Yatsenyuk said. “This is a breach of moral and civilized principles."
-- RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Trump: Putin 'Is Not Going Into Ukraine'
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gave a confused interpretation of Russia's influence in Ukraine in an interview on ABC News on July 31. Trump told interviewer George Stephanopoulos that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "not going into Ukraine," then backtracked when reminded about Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. (This Week, ABC News)
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
Ukrainian Soldiers Return Fire With Separatists In Eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian government forces said they repulsed an attack by Russia-backed separatists around the town of Mariinka, near Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers, seen in this video on the evening of July 30, responded to the attack with machine-gun fire and grenades. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
