Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia on June 26 that they had “hours, literally” to retreat from Ukraine. Five days later, nothing has changed.
Kerry called on Russia to “help disarm the separatists, to encourage them to disarm, to call on them to lay down their weapons and begin to become part of a legitimate political process” after meeting with France’s foreign minister in Paris.
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expressed support for peace talks between the Ukranian government and pro-Russian separatists, the fighting between the two sides has continued, well after Kerry’s red line.
The U.S. is positive that the pro-Russian separatists were supplied with weapons from Moscow that helped down a Ukranian military plane last month and wound 69 and kill 27 over the weekend, during a ceasefire between the two sides that expired on June 30.
Despite Russia stomping all over Kerry’s “line,” there have been no reports of the U.S. using sanctions, military force or any other form punishment against the government in Moscow.