Vice President Biden to travel to Ukraine later this month

Mar. 27, 2014: Vice President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's 2014 Legislative Summit in Washington.

Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Ukraine later this month for meetings with government leaders and members of civil society, the White House announced Saturday.

Biden will travel to the capital of Kiev on April 22 for a visit that the White House says will focus on the international community's efforts to help stabilize and strengthen Ukraine's economy.

"The Vice President will underscore the United States' strong support for a united, democratic Ukraine that makes its own choices about its future path," the White House said in a statement.

The statement went on to say that Biden also will assist Ukraine in its efforts aimed at constitutional reform, decentralization, anti-corruption, and free and fair presidential elections set for May 25. Biden will also consult on steps to enhance Ukraine's energy security.

As Ukraine deals with possible bankruptcy, uprisings in the east by pro-Russian separatists have unsettled the country. With tens of thousands of Russian troops deployed along the Ukrainian border, Ukraine and its allies worry that Russia could follow its annexation of Crimea by invading eastern Ukraine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.