McDonough: Violence in Ukraine ‘very worrisome’

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough is calling new Russian interference “very worrisome,” as fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine.

“We have been very clear that Russia could also stop this, and until they do we’ll continue to make clear in coordination and concert with our friends that they’ll continue to pay a pretty dramatic price,” McDonough said at a Politico lunch on Thursday.

{mosads}Earlier Thursday, Ukrainian officials said an artillery shell killed at least eight people when it hit a bus in the city of Donetsk, which has been the site of some of the most intense clashes between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. The incident came amid recent reports suggesting Russian troops and additional weapons had crossed the border into Ukraine.

Russia last year annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and has been supporting separatist groups in the east of the country.

McDonough declined to say whether the U.S. believed Russian troops had deployed across the border, but noted that President Obama had previously said Moscow was culpable in similar situations.

“All of this looks and feels an awful like, in effect, a Russian activity,” McDonough said.

He said the U.S. wanted to see Russia display “respect for neighbors, not undermining neighbors’ interests.”

Earlier this month, the White House announced it would soon make available $1 billion in loan guarantees previously authorized by Congress to the Ukrainian government. The White House is also asking lawmakers to authorize another $1 billion in guarantees if “Ukraine continues making concrete progress on its reform agenda.”