Russian forces entered the Crimea province in southern Ukraine after a revolution overthrew the government of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in February. This development has strained Russia’s relations with the West. Barack Obama accused Russia of breaking international law by entering another country by force. Conversely, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that this was necessary to protect Russia’s interests in the Crimean peninsula on the Baltic Sea, where the Russian navy has a fleet.

Later, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kiev to declare a $1 billion economic aid to Ukraine. The European Union has also promised an aid of 1.6 billion euros to Ukraine after the latter receives funding from the International Monetary Fund. The new Ukrainian leaders have announced that their nation would need $35 billion in the next two years to save their economy.

This monetary aid would also help Ukraine import gas. This has become necessary after the previous gas supplier, the Russian state company Gazprom, declared that it wouldn’t give discount on its gas supplies to Ukraine from April due to previous unpaid bills. Putin confirmed that the Ukrainian government is yet to pay around $1.6 billion to Gazprom for previous gas supplies.