Vice President Joe Biden spoke today with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko regarding the political situation in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government’s efforts to ensure unhindered access to the MH-17 crash site, and Russia’s destabilizing actions in eastern Ukraine. The Vice President also announced approximately $8 million in new assistance to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service. This additional assistance includes engineering equipment for improving infrastructure along Ukraine’s borders, transport and patrol vehicles, surveillance equipment to extend the visual range of border security patrols, and small boats to conduct maritime patrol and interdiction operations. The Vice President congratulated Poroshenko on the Ukrainian parliament’s confidence vote in Prime Minister Yatsenyuk as well the passage of important economic reform bills and the ratification of agreements with Australia and the Netherlands for security personnel to access to the MH-17 crash site in support of the international investigation. President Poroshenko informed the Vice President that access to the crash site had been secured both yesterday and today despite continued separatist attacks in the vicinity. The two leaders also discussed Russia’s deeply destabilizing efforts to continue supplying weapons to its proxies in eastern Ukraine and the increasing prevalence of artillery and rocket fire coming from the Russian side of the border.