ICYMI:
U.S. hits separatists with new sanctions
By RFE/RL
The U.S. Treasury Department announced new financial sanctions against more than three dozen fighters, leaders, and allies of the Russia-backed separatist conflict that is now in its third year in eastern Ukraine.
The June 20 announcement came as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrived at the White House to meet with President Donald Trump -- their first face-to-face meeting -- and other senior Washington officials.
Those targeted included senior leaders of the separatist governments in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine. Also targeted was Dmitry Utkin, the founder of secretive private military company that has recruited soldiers to fight alongside separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The announcement was a small victory for Poroshenko, whose administration has been billing the Washington meeting as a small coup, since it precedes Trump's first scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, set for next month in Germany.
But the White House has been decidedly low-key in promoting the visit, saying Poroshenko would only "drop in" to see Trump along with Vice President Mike Pence on June 20.
The Ukraine conflict has killed at least 10,090 people and displaced nearly 2 million since April 2014.