Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and other U.S. officials will travel to Kiev on Saturday to attend the inauguration of Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko, the White House announced Thursday.
Mr. Poroshenko was elected May 25 in Ukraine’s first nationwide elections since the country’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych, vacated his office and fled the country amid rampant protests. Since then, Ukraine has dealt with Russian troops massed along its border and pro-Russian activists stoking unrest and violence in eastern regions of the country.
The Obama administration firmly supported the May 25 elections and cast them as vital to the free future of Ukraine.
In addition to Mr. Biden and Mr. McCain, other members of the American delegation will be: Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican; Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat; U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt; Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Ohio Democrat; Daniel Baer, U.S. representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; and Victoria Nuland, the State Department’s assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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