U.S. Vice President Joe Biden cast doubt on Russia's willingness to seek peace in Ukraine while European leaders arrived in Moscow looking for a deal to end the deadly clash between rebels and government forces.
Speaking from the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Biden said Putin "continues to call for new peace plans as his troops roll through the Ukrainian countryside and he absolutely ignores every agreement that his country has signed in the past."
Biden said the European Union and the United States need to stand together to financially and politically support Ukraine, according to Reuters.
"This is a moment where the United States and Europe must stand together, stand firm," he said. "Russia cannot be allowed to redraw the map of Europe because that's exactly what they're doing.
Moscow warned that aid given to Ukraine would be viewed as a threat to Russia, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"We have to stand, we the United States and Europe as a whole, has to stand with Ukraine at this moment. Ukraine needs our financial assistance and support as it pursues reforms. Even in the face of this military onslaught they are attempting to push forward with reforms," Biden said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande arrived in Moscow to press for peace in Ukraine and to get the two countries to sign a ceasefire deal.
"We are hopeful Russia will take advantage of a broad-based acceptance that there's a diplomatic resolution staring everybody in the face," Secretary of State John Kerry said from Kiev after his meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
On Thursday, Kerry said President Barack Obama would decide soon on whether to provide military assistance to Kiev. He added that he wanted to give Merkel and Hollande a chance to seek an agreement before the Washington took action.
"We are not interested in a proxy war, our objective is to change Russia's behavior," he said.