Praise for Poroshenko

Washington celebrated the Ukrainian President. Petro Poroshenko delivered an impressive and fiesty speech at the US Congress. He is among the few foreigners given an opportunity to speak at what the Americans regard as such an important podium. It's a special honor the United States bestowed upon him. He gave a heartfelt speech and emphasized the right to freedom and self-determination. The US elected representatives present answered his request not to abandon Ukraine with their extended applause.

Be it Congress, the White House or the city's think tanks and foundations, the red carpet is being rolled out for the Ukrainian presidnet wherever he appears in Washington and he is given honors and pats on the back by politicians. At first blush, it's been a successful visit to the US capital for a head of state. But it's hard to call the mood light. And for good reason.

Poroshenko seems worn down. Moscow annexed Crimea and continues to control eastern Ukraine. His country's economy is at the edge of collapse. Unemployment is rising. Russia has sealed Ukrainian products out of its markets. The once so controversial trade association agreement with the European Union will not go into full effect until the end of 2015. Kyiv needs money to pay it gas bill to the Kremlin as Moscow slowly but surely closes the gas pipelines. Heaters in Lemberg, Odessa and Kyiv may not sputter to life. There is no question about it: Ukrainians are paying a high price for the new politicial direction the country has taken away from Russia and toward the West.

What is the American answer to Poroshenko's requests for money and weapons? The Ukrainian Army needs weapons to defend itself from beligeriants in the country's eastern reaches. The government needs money to help 47 million people get through the winter. To use his own words, "Blankets, night-vision goggles are also important, but one cannot win the war with blankets. Even more, we cannot keep the peace with a blanket."

So far, the Americans have refused to provide weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin should not be provoked. There is also not a military solution to the conflict, observers in Washington have said. That's about how former US President George W. Bush reacted in 2008. He also refused to send weapons to Georgia when it was fighting Russia.

Poroshenko has also been refused a cash influx. The United States is in the middle of electoral campaigning and representatives aren't ready to give away billions to a country many US citizen aren't familar with. Sotto voce, Washington's politicians also point out the widespread corruption in Ukraine and wonder where aid could end up. Instead, the US political class says, it should be up to the Europeans and the International Monetary Fund to address the situation.

He who sows false hopes harvest real disappointment, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is reported to have once said. For years, the United States has appealed to Ukraine and encouraged the country to give up its close relationship with Russia. Now that Kyiv has taken those very steps, Washington has a responsibility to Ukrainians. The Americans will not do justice to that responsibility they have taken on unless they open up their purse strings.