At least 331 people have died since the signing of a "truce" between Ukraine and the Russian-backed militants waging war in the eastern part of the country. The United Nations says fighting has continued "on an almost daily basis." The airport in Donetsk, a crucial transportation hub, has been flattened by shelling. According to the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, at least 3,000 Russian troops remain in the country.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said "it’s obvious" that the ceasefire "isn’t implemented yet." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has praised the "unambiguously positive" results. Meanwhile, President Obama is on a fundraising trip to California and recently announced an emoji-based outreach effort aimed at persuading young liberals to love him again. He has yet to comment on the situation in Ukraine.
When the ceasefire was first announced on September 5, Obama said the United States was "hopeful," but also "skeptical" that Russia would stop causing trouble in Ukraine. Weeks later, in an interview with 60 Minutes, the president held out hope for a "political solution," and said that if Russia started agreeing with logic of his arguments, "there’s still the possibility of Russia moving in a better direction."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who recently spoke before a joint session of Congress in Washington, has begged the United States to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian military in order to combat Russian-backed forces. "One cannot win the war with blankets," he said.
Following Poroshenko’s speech, the Obama administration announced that it would provide $46 million of blankets and other non-lethal aid to Ukraine.