Washington's U.N. ambassador was set Wednesday to meet Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko at a time of renewed hostilities with pro-Russian fighters and fears of the Western-backed state's imminent debt default.

Samantha Power's show of support for Poroshenko's embattled team will also see her speak to Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and senior cabinet members. The avowed critic of Russia and promoter of the ex-Soviet state's budding alliance with Europe has scheduled a public appearance in Kiev Thursday.

Power's visit comes one year into a presidency Poroshenko has used to try to wipe out more than two decades of crippling corruption and anemic economic performance that left successive administrations reliant on Russian help.

bbabo.Net