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Poroshenko receives Luik in Kiev, Aug. 24, 2017.

Luik is on a visit to Ukraine to attend events marking the 26th anniversary of Ukrainian independence.

In his meeting with Turchynov, Luik said that Estonia would continue to support Ukraine politically and also in practical cooperation in the field of defense, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of Defense said.

Estonia will continue its cooperation with Ukraine in the training of special operations units and in the field of military medicine, and will continue sharing its cyber know-how.

Although we are a small country, we too can help Ukraine by focusing what we have to offer. We believe that support for Ukraine provided by Estonia and other NATO member states is extremely important, Luik said.

Poroshenko said in his meeting with Luik that the war in Eastern Ukraine continued, and that the number of civilian casualties had grown significantly this year. The Ukrainian state wanted peace, for the achievement of which it needed continued the solidarity and unity of its transatlantic partners. The unity of the West had made Russia pay a high price for its aggression, the Ukrainian president said.

Luik described Estonias support of Ukraine as steadfast, and said that it understood very well the strong link between Ukraines fight and its own security. Estonia supported the continuation of the sanctions imposed on Russia, he added.

On Thursday Luik attended the Independence Day parade in Kiev, in which also a four-strong Estonian color guard of the Guard Battalion took part. The color guards officer was the commander of the Guard Battalion, Maj. Martin Kukk, and the flag bearer the head of the battalions ceremony service, 2nd Lt. Sander Karask.

Estonia supports Ukraine in the training of special operations forces and in the field of military medicine. Up to now 64 wounded Ukrainian soldiers have undergone rehabilitation in Estonia. In addition, Ukrainian medics have attended training programs here.

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Luik discusses Ukraine's security situation with Poroshenko, Turchynov - ERR News

This article first appeared on The Daily Signal.

In May 2015, Russia began constructing a planned 11.8-mile bridge across the Kerch Strait, a body of water that sits between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The Russian bridge project is meant to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, the region of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

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Two weeks ago, Russia announced temporary closures of the Kerch Strait to accommodate bridge construction. The closures have cut off Ukraines southeast coast, including Berdiansk and the strategically important Mariupol, Ukraines 10th-largest city and a key port for exports like Ukrainian steel.

Currently, Russia can only access the Crimean Peninsula by air and sea. The bridge project would create a rail and road link, and further entrench Russias position on the annexed peninsula.

Part of a December 2003 bilateral agreement signed between Russia and Ukraine is a stipulation that mercantile vessels and other state non-commercial vessels flying the flags of the Russian Federation and Ukraine have free navigation in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait.

Ukraines Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Yuriy Lavrenyuk recently stated that Ukraine would sue Russia over the closure of the Kerch Strait pursuant to the agreement.

People fish on a pier at the port of Mariupol, on the north of the Sea of Azov in eastern Ukraine March 26, 2014. Yannis Behrakis/reuters

While this is not the first time Russias navy has closed the Kerch Strait, it is the latest example of Russias ongoing illegal aggression against Ukraine.

Last September, the U.S. Treasury expanded sanctions on Russia for its illegal annexation of Crimea and specifically targeted companies and individuals associated with the Kerch bridge project. U.S. policymakers should now condemn Russias closure of the Kerch Strait, as well as its ongoing occupation of Crimea.

Working conditions for construction workers employed on the bridge project have been described as slave-like. Some residents of the Ukrainian town of Kerch in Crimea were reportedly expelled from their homes and moved to shabbily built apartments to make way for construction of the bridge and an adjoining highway project.

Despite significant doubts about the economic viability of the bridge, which may cost as much as $5 billion to build, the aggressive timeline to completion (currently scheduled for the end of 2018), as well as the geological suitability of the strait as a site for a bridge, Russia continues to build.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin the geopolitical symbolism of the bridge far outweighs its bloated price tag.

Since the time of Crimeas annexation, almost 5 percent of Ukraines landmass and more than half of its coastline have been under illegal Russian occupation. In addition, Russia has also claimed rights to valuable underwater resources off the peninsula.

Militarily, Russia greatly expanded its military footprint in occupied Crimea, allocating $1 billion to modernize the Black Sea fleet by 2020 and stationed warships equipped with Caliber-NK long-range cruise missiles in Sevastopol. Last August, Russia deployed S-400 air defense systems to Crimea.

Recent reports that the Trump administration is considering sending lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine are promising. Every country has the right to self-defense, and the U.S. should supply these weapons to Ukraine.

However, such a move should be incorporated within a larger strategy for assisting Ukraine. This larger strategy should include the issuance of a nonrecognition statement on Crimea, as well as the condemnation of Russias ongoing illegal actions in Crimea and the Black Sea region, such as Russias closure of the Kerch Strait.

As with Russias 2008 invasion of Georgia, Putin has often found the lazy days of August when many Western leaders are on vacation a convenient month to initiate some new aggression against a neighboring state.

In the case of the closure of the Kerch Strait, American policymakers should make clear they are still watching.

Daniel Kochis is a policy analyst for European affairs at The Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.

Read more:
Has Trump Noticed Putin Has Cut Off Ukraine's Black Sea Ports? - Newsweek

Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said they will honor a cease-fire beginning with the new school year on August 25.

Separatist leader Denis Pushilin was quoted on the separatists' main news site late on August 23 as saying that his fighters "supported a stable and universal cease-fire along the contact line" in Ukraine's Donbas region.

Martin Sajdik, the envoy for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the Ukraine crisis, had earlier confirmed reports that an "indefinite" cease-fire would commence at midnight on August 25.

The OSCE issued a statement saying it "welcomes the recommitment to cease-fire" and called the truce "an encouraging joint, political signal from all signatories" to the 2015 Minsk peace agreement.

The cease-fire was agreed late on August 22 during a phone call between the leaders of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine -- the so-called "Normandy Four."

In the call, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and French President Emmanuel Macron all voiced strong support for a lasting cease-fire to allow children in eastern Ukraine to attend school at the start of the new term, the Kremlin and Poroshenko's press service said.

Kurt Volker, the U.S. special envoy for efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, had earlier expressed his support for the proposal in comments to the Baltic News Service as he visited Lithuania on August 22.

The cease-fire for the back-to-school season "seems like a very good idea. We would obviously fully support that and hope the sides could do that," Volker told the news service.

Several cease-fire deals announced as part of the 2015 Minsk accords have failed to hold since Russia-backed separatists seized parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which border Russia, in 2014.

The United Nations estimates that at least 10,090 people, including 2,777 civilians, have been killed, and at least 23,966 injured since the start of the conflict through May 15, 2017.

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and for its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Volker was joined in Kyiv on August 23 by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. They will hold meetings with senior Ukrainian government officials to discuss "the next steps in diplomatic negotiations to restore Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," U.S. officials said.

Mattis is scheduled to attend a parade on August 24 to mark Ukraines Independence Day and to meet with Poroshenko.

Mattis is likely to vow continued nonlethal U.S. support, offering the potential for weaponry considered "defensive" in nature.

Kyiv is expected to push for more lethal weapons, including antitank and antiaircraft weapons, to battle the separatists.

Mattis arrived in Kyiv from Ankara, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials. He had earlier stopped in Jordan and made a surprise visit to Iraq.

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Russia-Backed Separatists In Eastern Ukraine Say Will Honor Cease-Fire - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

BBC News

Ukraine forces declare truce for new school year BBC News Forces fighting in eastern Ukraine have committed to a ceasefire before the start of the new school year, say international monitors. The truce will take hold at midnight on Friday, OSCE representative Ambassador Martin Sajdik said. Shelling has ... Contact group on Ukraine in Minsk to reconvene on 6 SeptemberBelarus News (BelTA) Ukraine separatists agree fresh ceasefire from FridayYahoo Singapore News Contact Group on Ukraine crisis agree on new ceasefire from Aug. 25Famagusta Gazette ReliefWeb all 18 news articles »

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Ukraine forces declare truce for new school year - BBC News

Sen. John McCainJohn McCainBush biographer: Trump has moved the goalpost for civilized society White House to pressure McConnell on ObamaCare McCain: Trump needs to state difference between bigots and those fighting hate MORE (R-Ariz.) is again urgingPresident Trump to provide lethal aid to Ukraine as Defense Secretary James MattisJames Norman MattisTrump to tackle Afghanistan strategy at Camp David Four members of Joint Chiefs denounce racism US, Japan conduct air drills after North Korea issues Guam warning MORE arrives in the country for a meeting with its president and top defense official.

"It is long past time for the United States to provide Ukraine the defensive lethal assistance it needs to deter and defend against further Russian aggression," McCain, the chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement Wednesday.

The senator's renewed calls for the U.S. to provide lethal weaponry to Ukraine as it battles pro-Russia separatists in the eastern Donbas region comes two days after Trump announced a new broad strategy for Afghanistan.

With the change of course in Afghanistan, McCain said, Trump "now has the same opportunity with regard to Ukraine."

The senior Arizona Republican argued that providing weaponsto Ukraine"is not opposed to a peaceful resolution of this conflict it is essential to achieving it."

"As long as the status quo remains, Russia has no reason to change its behavior, and we should only expect more violence and more death," he said.

Russia has denied providing support tothe separatists, but U.S. officials have claimed otherwise.

The president already has the authority to send lethal assistance to Ukraine under the annual defense policy bill. But former President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaCongress needs to assert the war power against a dangerous president CNN's Don Lemon: Anyone supporting Trump complicit' in racism DOJ warrant of Trump resistance site triggers alarm MORE chose instead to send only nonlethal assistance to the country.

During his visit to Kiev, Mattis is expected to reassure the country's leaders that the U.S. remains opposed to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, according to The Associated Press.

Trump entered office in January with hopes of improving the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. But ties have grown tenseamid ongoing investigations into Russia's role in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Also fueling tensions between the two countries is a sanctions package signed into law earlier thismonth that penalizes Russia for its efforts to meddle in the election. Trump reluctantly signed the measures after they were overwhelmingly passed byCongress.

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McCain renews calls for Trump to send weapons to Ukraine - The Hill