Vice President Biden spoke today with President Poroshenko of Ukraine.  The two leaders expressed concern over the recent surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine, where ceasefire violations by combined Russian-separatist forces are at their highest levels since 2015, often using heavy weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements.  Both leaders reiterated the need for a political and diplomatic resolution of the conflict through full implementation of the Minsk agreements by all parties. The Vice President relayed that the United States had sent a message to Russia that the world is watching and underscored the need to deescalate the situation.  He also urged Ukraine to show restraint.  The leaders also reviewed recent progress towards fulfilling IMF conditions for disbursing ‎the next tranche of financial assistance, and agreed on the importance of recent Ukrainian efforts to continue critical anti-corruption reforms.