U.S. may arm Kyiv against rebels
Obama’s advisers said to be warming to idea as Putin digs in heels
MOSCOW — The threat of a proxy war in Ukraine between the United States and Russia is looming larger amid signs that the White House is considering arming the Ukrainian military in its battle against Russianbacked separatists.
Washington has so far refused to supply weapons to the prowestern Ukrainian government but reports suggest that a number of U.S. President Barack Obama’s advisers are warming to the idea.
According to the New York Times, Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s military commander, supports providing arms and equipment to Ukraine’s hardpressed forces.
Other senior officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, are also said to be open to shifting American policy and sending weapons to Kyiv.
It is not clear if the growing number of hawks will be able to sway Obama, who has so far been reluctant to escalate the standoff with Russia beyond economic sanctions.
While the U.S. and European sanctions have taken a toll on Russia’s economy, they have not succeeded in convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his intervention in eastern Ukraine.
Instead, Russian troops and tanks have continued to pour over the border in support of separatists and a ceasefire agreement between the two sides has collapsed into fullscale fighting.
More than 5,100 people have been killed since the conflict began last spring, according to the UN. About 50 people died over the weekend.
Heavy fighting between the separatists and Ukrainian troops continued in eastern Ukraine on Monday, as Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the rebels, announced a general mobilization.
“We intend to mobilize the necessary number of people to bring the size of our army up to 100,000 people,” said Zakharchenko, in quotes carried by a rebel news website. “It will be a voluntary mobilization.”
The call-up would allow the rebels to form three new motorized rifle brigades, one artillery and one tank brigade by spring, he added, giving the chance to “repel any strike.”
A spokesman for the U.S. State Department did not deny that America was considering sending weapons but said no decision had been made.
“I don’t think anybody wants to get into a proxy war with Russia and that is not our objective here. Our objective is to change the behaviour of Russia,” she said.
A group of well-respected former U.S. officials and academics released a report Monday arguing that the fighting in Ukraine showed the need for Washington to begin arming Kyiv’s forces.
“The West needs to bolster deterrence in Ukraine by raising the risks and costs to Russia of any renewed major offensive,” the report said.
Its authors included James Stavridis, Breedlove’s predecessor as NATO’s military commander, and Michele Flournoy, a former Pentagon official who would be in the running to become U.S. defence secretary if Hillary Clinton wins the next election.
The report called for the U.S. to give the Ukrainians anti-tank weapons for use against Russian armoured vehicles. Most of Kyiv’s anti-tank stockpile is from the Soviet era and about 70 per cent of the weapons are reportedly unusable.