Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, President Obama laid out his understanding of the difference between Putin's administration and his own: "might makes right" versus "right makes might."
Obama criticized Russia's placement of troops within Ukraine's borders, saying, "This is a vision of the world in which might makes right–a world in which one nation’s borders can be redrawn by another, and civilized people are not allowed to recover the remains of their loved ones because of the truth that might be revealed."
"America stands for something different," said Obama. "We believe that right makes might–that bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones; that people should be able to choose their own future."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivered a passionate plea for military aid to the U.S. Congress last week, telling them they "urgently need" equipment to prevent "the new Cold War."