Nuland Denies US Training Ukraine Militants, Suggests Aid Possible
A senior U.S. diplomat has denied Russian claims that Ukrainian antigovernment militants are trained at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland also said Washington and the international community are ready to provide more aid to Ukraine if leaders move quickly to implement democratic reforms and install what she called a “national technical government” to end the ongoing confrontation between authorities and antigovernment protesters.
Nuland was speaking in Kyiv on February 7, one day after she became embroiled in controversy after the leak of a bugged conversation in which she seemingly used a vulgarity to dismiss European Union mediation efforts in Ukraine.
The State Department says Nuland has apologized to the EU.
Germany, a leading U.S. ally and an EU power, has criticized Nuland’s comments as “totally unacceptable.”