Tillerson said "weak" U.S. response to Crimea emboldened Russia's aggression:
By RFE/RL
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state says the United States should have reacted more forcefully to Russia's annexation of Crimea, including with immediate military assistance, to prevent further Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said in a January 11 confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that President Barack Obama's administration's response to the annexation emboldened the Kremlin to back separatists in esatern Ukraine with weapons and soldiers.
While Obama slapped sanctions on Russia over the land-grab, Tillerson told lawmakers that Washington should have advised Ukraine to move all available military assets to its eastern border and provide those assets with defensive weapons, U.S. or NATO air surveillance, and intelligence.
He added that Russia's leadership saw the Obama administration's response to Crimea as "weak."
Russia denies that it has sent troops and weapons to back the separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014, despite substantial evidence of such support.
Tillerson's testimony come amid scrutiny of his ties to the Russian government during his time with ExxonMobil, which has conducted extensive business dealings in Russia.
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry:
