US considers providing arms to Ukraine as rebels step up attacks, says report

• John Kerry and military ‘open to arming Kiev forces’, says New York Times
• Washington concerned by renewed fighting after breakdown of truce

At least two dozen dead in renewed fighting in Ukraine

Reuters

Published: 20:59 EST Sunday, 01 February 2015

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A man stands next to his car after it was destroyed by shelling today in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk on Sunday. Photograph: Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images

President Barack Obama’s administration is considering providing Ukrainian forces with defensive weapons and equipment in the face of a rebel offensive that has shattered a five-month truce, according to the New York Times.

The newspaper quoted US officials as saying secretary of state John Kerry and US joint chiefs chairman Martin Dempsey were open to discussions of the idea and that Nato military commander General Philip Breedlove supported providing such lethal aid.

One official was quoted as saying that US national security adviser Susan Rice was also prepared to reconsider her previous resistance to providing such assistance.

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Kerry will visit Kiev on Thursday for talks with president Petro Poroshenko and other Ukrainian officials. Obama voiced concern last week about renewed fighting between Russian-backed separatist and government forces in eastern Ukraine and said the United States was considering all options short of military action to isolate Russia.

The White House has stopped short of providing military aid to Ukraine in order to avoid provoking Russia. Months of sanctions against Russia have not so far convinced Russia to cease arming the rebels, convincing some in the Obama administration that military support for Ukraine is required.

The Times said eight former senior US officials would issue an independent report on Monday urging Washington to send $3bn in defensive arms and equipment to Ukraine, including anti-armour missiles and reconnaissance drones.

Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as pro-Russian separatists used artillery fire to try to dislodge government forces from a strategic rail hub after peace talks collapsed.

Nato and Kiev accuse Russia of sending thousands of troops to support the rebel advance with heavy weapons and tanks. Moscow denies it is directly involved in fighting over territory that the Kremlin refers to as “New Russia.“

European Union foreign ministers agreed on Thursday to extend for another six months economic sanctions against Russia that had been due to expire soon. Washington has promised to tighten its own sanctions, which have helped feed an economic crisis in Russia.