(NEW YORK TIMES) WASHINGTON — The interim prime minister of beleaguered Ukraine planned to make the rounds here on Wednesday as he seeks help bolstering his fragile government and even more fragile economy while somehow reversing Russia’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.
Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, an opposition leader named interim prime minister after the fall of the pro-Russia government in Kiev last month, was scheduled to meet with President Obama at the White House as well as Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department and congressional leaders on Capitol Hill. He then planned to head to New York, where he is scheduled to address the United Nations on Thursday.
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Mr. Yatsenyuk’s visit comes at a critical moment for his country. Crimea, where Russian troops have been solidifying their positions, is scheduled to hold a referendum Sunday on whether to remain in Ukraine or rejoin Russia. The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan, in a joint statement as the Group of 7, called the vote illegal on Wednesday and vowed “further action” if Russia annexes the peninsula.
