The United States will send more aid to Ukraine as part of that country’s fight against Russia, Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC's "Meet the Press."
“I have no doubt that additional assistance of economic kind and other kinds will be going to Ukraine,” Kerry said in an interview airing Sunday. "We do so understanding that there is no military solution. The solution is a political, diplomatic one."
While Kerry did not specify what Ukraine will get, he said U.S. officials consulted with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday. President Barack Obama, after consulting other world leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, will make a decision on the assistance, according to Kerry.
However, Kerry the solution to the conflict is up to Russia President Vladimir Putin.
“President Putin's got to make the decision to take an off ramp,” Kerry said, using the term to describe a way out of the present situation for Russia. “We have to make it clear to him that we are absolutely committed to the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine no matter what.”
Kerry cited numerous examples of how officials have offered Putin opportunities to pull back from Ukraine and said the Russian president has not taken any of the opportunities up.
"So he is leaving the global community with no choice but to continue to either put more sanctions in place or to provide additional assistance to Ukraine," he said. "Hopefully, he will come to a point where he realizes the damage he is doing is not just to the global order and the process."
The Secretary of State also said that on top of the international angst Putin has caused in Ukraine, his country is feeling the damage of his actions.
“I'm convinced — I think most people are convinced — that each month that goes by, that will catch up to him, ultimately, in Russia itself,” Kerry said. “The nationalistic card is playing for the moment. But ultimately, people want their lives to be better.”