Ukrainian president goes to Washington wanting more than moral support

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko comes to Washington on Thursday for meetings with President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. At the invitation of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, he'll also deliver an address before a joint session of Congress Thursday morning.

By granting Poroshenko this level of attention, American lawmakers are sending a clear signal to the world, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in particular, that the U.S. firmly stands by Ukraine as it attempts to defend its sovereignty and peacefully negotiate with pro-Russian separatists.

"The picture of President Poroshenko sitting in the Oval Office will be worth at least a thousand words, both in English and in Russian I think," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday.

Earnest added that Mr. Obama is committed to ensuring the U.S. stands with Ukraine, but it remains to be seen what further financial or military commitments the U.S. will make -- and how much good that assistance would do.

"We're not going to be in a position to solve Poroshenko's problems for him," said Joseph Dresen, an associate of Kennan Institute, a division of the Woodrow Wilson Center that focuses on Russia and Ukraine.

"We are not going to be able to convince Russia to settle with Kiev. If that were possible we would've already managed it," Dresen told CBS News. "President Poroshenko can expect an expression of this administration's support, this country's support, but that support is only going to go so far."

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After Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, the White House worked with Congress in March to approve aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. The White House has continued to step up sanctions against Russia. Still, Russia still claims control of Crimea, and pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine are still seeking more autonomy. Meanwhile, Ukraine's economy is flailing, and corruption remains a major problem.

The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee rolled out a bill this week that would impose more sanctions against Russia and offer further financial and military assistance for Ukraine. Specifically, it authorizes $350 million for military assistance such as surveillance drones and anti-tank and anti-armor weapons. It also includes $50 million to help Ukraine address potential fuel and electricity shortages, among other things.

The committee will vote on the bill after Poroshenko addresses Congress on Thursday.

While the legislation offers up hundreds of millions in support, Dresen noted that "Ukraine is facing problems in the billions of dollars."

The bill, however, could at least help stave off further Russian aggression, Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine now at the Brookings Institution, told CBS News. Ukraine could never beat Russian forces, he noted, but with lethal military support like anti-armor weapons, it could impose greater costs on Russia for its interference.

So far, the Obama administration has been hesitant to provide lethal support, but "if you're overly cautious the Russians may be tempted to escalate," Pifer said.

Deterring Russia from any further aggression is the United States' clear objective, particularly given that Russia has asserted the right to defend any ethnic Russians anywhere in the world -- potentially putting some NATO partners at risk.

"President Putin has upended the international order and a slap on the wrist will not deter future Russian provocations," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, said in a statement. "In the face of Russian aggression, Ukraine needs our steadfast and determined support, not an ambiguous response. We are left with no choice but to apply tough sanctions against Russia, coupled with military assistance to Ukraine."

While Pifer said that military support for Ukraine could help, he warned against congressionally-mandated sanctions against Russia, "unless there's a vehicle to allow the sanctions to be removed quickly."

"Historically, Congress is much better about applying sanctions than taking them off," Pifer said. He cited sanctions imposed against communist states in 1974 that should have been repealed after the collapse of the Soviet Union but stayed in place until Congress finally repealed them in 2012. That sort of delay, he said, "discredits the value of the sanctions."

While Poroshenko may be looking for certain forms of support from the U.S., American lawmakers should have some requests of their own.

Earnest on Tuesday simply said Mr. Obama will "continue to encourage President Poroshenko to pursue a diplomatic resolution of the differences between the Ukrainian government and the Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine."

Poroshenko on Thursday is likely to tout the measures the Ukrainian parliament approved this week to advance that aim. One measure gives limited autonomy to the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. The parliament also ratified an agreement to deepen political and economic ties with the European Union.

Earnest praised Ukraine for pursuing such reforms, which "will help to deepen Ukraine's democracy and lay the groundwork for a more stable and prosperous economy."

While the measures approved this week are significant, Pifer said that on a recent visit to Ukraine, he "didn't detect a lot of optimism" about the deal to grant the separatists some autonomy. "The big question is, is that far enough."