McCain in first debate:

And watch Ukraine. This whole thing has got a lot to do with Ukraine, Crimea, the base of the Russian fleet in Sevastopol. And the breakdown of the political process in Ukraine between Tymoshenko and Yushchenko is a very serious problem.

So watch Ukraine, and let's make sure that we -- that the Ukrainians understand that we are their friend and ally.

McCain in second debate:

I said before, watch Ukraine. Ukraine, right now, is in the sights of Vladimir Putin, those that want to reassemble the old Soviet Union.

We've got to show moral support for Georgia

McCain advisors work with Ukraine....
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Since 2005, reported the New York Times, Davis Manafort's "clients have included the richest man in Ukraine and a former premier of that country whose opponents were supported by Mr. McCain;" additionally, Davis organized the secession referendum for the government of Montenegro and set up a 2006 introduction between McCain and a Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, with whom Davis was seeking to do business. [New York Times, 5/20/08; Washington Post, 1/25/08]

McCain Campaign Admitted That NSC Official Contacted McCain's Office About Davis's Ukraine Work. "The Davis-Manafort firm's lobbying work was a source of tension before the campaign, insiders say, given that the senator's image as a crusader against special interests made him vulnerable to critics looking for hypocrisy. A sore point was the work the firm did for a pro-Kremlin politician opposed by Mr. McCain and the U.S. government: current Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. A National Security Council official brought it to McCain aides' attention last year, they say." [ Wall Street Journal , 7/23/07]

Mr. McCain may have first become aware of Davis Manafort's activities in Ukraine as far back as 2005. At that time, a staff member at the National Security Council called Mr. McCain's Senate office to complain that Mr. Davis's lobbying firm was undercutting American foreign policy in Ukraine, said a person with direct knowledge of the phone call who spoke on condition of anonymity. A campaign spokesman, when asked whether such a call had occurred, referred a reporter to Mr. McCain's office. The spokesman there, Robert Fischer, did not respond to repeated inquiries. Such a call might mean that Mr. McCain has been long aware of Mr. Davis's foreign clients. Mr. Davis took a leave from his firm at the end of 2006." [New York Times, 6/12/08]

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And Today, this from the Ukraine:

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolved Parliament on Wednesday and called a snap election, dashing hopes for the revival of a pro-Western coalition and throwing the politically volatile ex-Soviet nation into further turmoil.

The vote will be the third parliamentary election in less than three years and will deal a blow to an economy already battered by the global financial crisis.
The date of the election has not yet been announced.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation aired late Wednesday, Yushchenko accused his Orange Revolution partner Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of ignoring national interests for the sake of acquiring power.

"I am deeply convinced that the democratic coalition was ruined by one thing -- the ambition of one person, the hunger for power ... and the dominance of personal interests over national ones," Yushchenko said.

The address had apparently been recorded in advance, as Yushchenko was in Italy on an official visit.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/10/08/ukraine.election.ap/index.html

A brief look at history:

While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia
By Matthew Mosk and Jeffrey H. BirnbaumWashington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 13, 2008; Page A03

Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.

The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.

The McCain campaign said Georgia's lobbying contract with Orion Strategies had no bearing on the candidate's decision to speak with President Mikheil Saakashvili and did not influence his statement. "The Embassy of Georgia requested the call," said campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.

But ethics experts have raised concerns about former lobbyists for foreign governments providing advice to presidential candidates about those same countries. "The question is, who is the client? Is the adviser loyal to income from a foreign client, or is he loyal to the candidate he is working for now?" said James Thurber, a lobbying expert at American University. "It's dangerous if you're getting advice from people who are very close to countries on one side or another of a conflict."