Ian Brzezinski, senior fellow for the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, is quoted by Deutsche Welle on Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s visit to the White House:
When Obama welcomes the head of the new Ukrainian transitional government to the White House, he will have done more than practice his name. The reception is meant to show the world that the president has committed himself, says Ian Brzezinski of the Washington think tank Atlantic Council. “I think it’s a very important visit because it will communicate US commitment to the independence and sovereignty of the Ukraine, including sovereignty of the Crimea,” he told DW.
A generous aid package of both economic and security measures will also underline this commitment, says Brzezinski, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO Policy from 2001 to 2005, under George Bush. Military aid could encompass a wide spectrum, he explains. “It could range from assistance designed to consolidate, reform and modernize the Ukrainian military. That would be geared toward a longer term vision for Ukraine and its security relationship to the West,” he says. “And it could also include more immediate needs such as equipment that would be needed to help reinforce Ukrainian defenses against Russian forces.”