克里访问乌克兰，与波罗申科会谈

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, while the leaders of France and Germany announced they are also heading to Ukraine with a new peace proposal.

Ahead of Kerry's arrival, a senior State Department official announced the U.S. is providing Kyiv with an additional $16.4 million in aid to help civilians affected by fighting between Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The official also said the U.S. continues to evaluate whether to provide "defensive lethal weapons" to Ukraine, but he said there were concerns whether Ukrainian forces had adequate training to handle such equipment.

The official added that Washington is talking to its European partners about imposing additional sanctions against Russia in the near future, if Russian interference in Ukraine continues.

Violence in eastern Ukraine escalated after last week's breakdown of the latest round of peace talks aimed at ending the nine-month rebellion.

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Ukraine to present a "new solution to the conflict based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine." President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel will discuss the plan with President Poroshenko before heading to Moscow for talks with Russian leaders, said the French leader.

No details of the peace initiative were immediately available.

In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was set Thursday to strengthen its defenses near Russia's borders in response to Moscow's "aggressive actions" in Ukraine.