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 "It's getting a fresh look," a senior administration official said
of deliberations among Obama administration officials on whether to
send defensive weapons to prop up Ukrainian forces. "Where things
will end up, we don’t know."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Kiev on Thursday for
talks with Ukraine's government, the same day NATO defense ministers
meet in Brussels.
The policy rethink reflects what U.S. officials say is a frustration
with Moscow's continued support for rebels despite months of
international economic sanctions, and the collapse of the latest
attempt at peace talks at the weekend.
Washington already provides military equipment to Ukraine, such as
counter-mortar detection units, body armor, binoculars, small boats
and other gear. But it has delayed any decision for months on
providing arms, from rifles to anti-tank weapons, as it sought a
diplomatic solution.
 However, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United
States was particularly concerned with mounting violence after
months of fighting close to the Russian border.
Separatists pounded positions of Ukrainian government troops holding
a strategic rail town as both sides mobilized more forces. Five
Ukrainian soldiers were killed in clashes at the weekend and 15
civilians died on Saturday.
While the United States and Western allies pursue a diplomatic
solution, the administration was constantly reviewing how to help
Ukraine, Psaki said. "We haven't taken options on or off the table."
The West says the rebels are armed by Russia and supported by
several thousand Russian troops, a claim Moscow denies. Both the EU
and United States have imposed sanctions against Russia.
"I don’t think anybody wants to get into a proxy war with Russia,"
Psaki said, "Our objective here is to change the behavior of Russia.
That’s the reason we have put the sanctions in place."
U.S. President Barack Obama will host German Chancellor Angela
Merkel at the White House on Monday. She has said Germany would not
supply weapons to Kiev's military but has not objected to Washington
doing so.
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White House national security adviser Ben Rhodes, however, told CNN
the best way to influence Russia was through economic sanctions.
A report by the Washington-based Atlantic Council on Monday said the
U.S. should immediately authorize $1 billion in military assistance
to Kiev and coordinate it with Poland, Baltic States, Canada and
Britain.
"Should we delay action, the West should expect that the price will
only grow," according to the report, which said military aid should
include light anti-armor missiles, as well as unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAV's) and armored Humvees.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Jhon Herbst, one of the authors of
the report, said it was clear diplomatic efforts had failed and
Moscow believed it could have its way on the battlefield.
"We are not arguing for a military solution, we believe the
Ukrainian military cannot beat the Russian military, and right now
the Russian government has shown no interest in a diplomatic
settlement," Herbst said: "For there to be a real diplomatic
settlement the military solution has to be denied to the Kremlin."
(Additional reporting by Warren Strobel and Doina Chiacu. Editing by
Mohammad Zargham, David Storey, Gunna Dickson and Bernard Orr)
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