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Pompeo set to meet with Zelenskiy in Kyiv:
By RFE/RL
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to arrive in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other officials as part of a trip that will also take him to Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
The top U.S. diplomat's visit to Kyiv on January 30 comes amid the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, who has been accused by Democrats of abusing his power of office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rival by withholding congressionally approved military aid and a highly desired invitation to the White House for Zelenskiy.
It also comes days after Pompeo reportedly asked an NPR journalist in anger, "Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?"
Ukraine relies heavily on U.S. military and political support, along with aid provided by European countries.
Pompeo's meeting with Zelenskiy and other officials is scheduled for January 31.The meetings will "highlight U.S. support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the State Department said in a statement ahead of his visit.
Pompeo is also scheduled to attend a ceremony in the capital honoring those who have died in the long, bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine against Russia-backed separatists.
More than 13,000 people have died in the conflict since 2014. Russia also seized and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in a move not recognized by the international community.
A day before his talks with the Ukrainian leadership, the U.S. Treasury Department joined the European Union and Canada in imposing new sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s “continued aggression toward Ukraine and attempted occupation of Crimea.”
Canada, the EU, and United States began issuing the restrictive measures after Russia seized the Crimea region in March 2014 and their respective sanctions lists have grown over the subsequent years as Moscow has continued to back the separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Pompeo arrived in London on the first leg of his trip on January 29 and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on January 30 before moving on to Kyiv. (w/AFP, Reuters, Bloomberg, and AP)
This ends our live blogging for January 29. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
U.S. joins EU, Canada in imposing fresh Crimea-related sanctions:
By RFE/RL
The U.S. Treasury Department has joined the European Union and Canada in imposing new sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow's "continued aggression toward Ukraine and attempted occupation of Crimea," a news release says.
A total of eight individuals and a privately owned railroad company face restrictive measures in the form of asset freezes in the United States, according to the department's Office of Foreign Assts Control (OFAC).
Seven of these individuals, whom the Treasury Department called "illegitimate Russian-backed Crimean officials," were also designated by Canada the same day and by the EU on January 28.
The imposition of sanctions was made "as part of a coordinated action in a strong demonstration of the international community's continued condemnation of Russia's interference in Crimean politics."
There are now 692 individuals and entities, as well as their subsidiaries, blacklisted by the U.S. government.
Grand Service Express and its CEO, Aleksandr Ganov, were put under sanctions for supporting "Russia's efforts to deepen the economic integration of Russia and Crimea."
It was in reference to a rail link that was opened in late December between Russia and the Ukrainian peninsula over a bridge that was built for which sanctions were also imposed.
"The GSE transport company operates in Russia, therefore, sanctions will not affect the company's activities," the press service of Grand Service Express told Interfax.
The EU's Russian sanctions list now consists of 177 individuals and 44 entities.
Canada, the EU, and the United States began issuing the restrictive measures after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea region in March 2014 and their respective sanctions lists have grown over the subsequent years as Moscow has continued to back separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The seven individuals include Sergei Danilenko, Lidia Basova, and Yekaterina Pyrkova of Sevastopol's municipal election committee, as well as Yuriy Gotsanyuk, the head of the de facto Crimean government. The three other targeted individuals are Mikhail Razvozhayev, Vladimir Nemtsev, and Yekaterina Altabayeva. (w/Interfax)