Washington agrees to send weapons to Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, a long-awaited move that deepens America’s involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Russia. Moscow responded angrily on Saturday.

The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles, US officials said late Friday.

Ukraine has long sought to boost its defenses against Russian-backed separatists armed with tanks that have rolled through eastern Ukraine during violence that has killed more than 10,000 since 2014.

Previously, the US has provided Ukraine with support equipment and training, and has let private companies sell some small arms like rifles.

The officials describing the plan weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly and demanded anonymity.

The move is likely to become another sore point between Washington and Moscow, as US President Donald Trump contends with ongoing questions about whether he’s too hesitant to confront the Kremlin. Ukraine accuses Russia of sending the tanks, and the US says Moscow is arming, training and fighting alongside the separatists.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the US decision will only make the conflict more deadly and suggested that Russia could be forced to respond. He also said the US can no longer cast itself as a mediator.

“It’s not a mediator. It’s an accomplice in fueling the war,” Ryabkov said in a statement.

The intensified support for Ukraine’s military also comes amid early discussions about sending UN peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine, to improve security conditions not only for Ukrainians but for monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who are on the ground.