Ukraine will never submit to Russian aggression and return to being a vassal of the Russian empire, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has told US Vice-President Joe Biden, who has visited Ukraine just days before his term ends.
Poroshenko emphasised his government has been building a new Ukraine that shares democratic values, rights and freedoms with the United States, according to comments on Monday carried by state news agency Ukrinform.
Biden responded by telling reporters: "You're fighting both the cancer of corruption ... and the unrelenting aggression of the Kremlin.
"The international community must continue to stand as one against Russian coercion and aggression."
Last week as one of his last major actions in office, President Barack Obama extended sanctions against Russia over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed rebel forces have been clashing with the Ukrainian military for almost three years.
More than 9000 have died in the conflict, which erupted after Kiev ousted its pro-Russian president in early 2014 amid mass protests calling for closer ties with the West.
US president-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to rebuild US-Russian ties, said last week that he would consider repealing the sanctions if Russia works successfully with the US.
