President Barack Obama has made no decisions on providing such lethal assistance. But after a series of striking reversals that Ukraine’s forces have suffered in recent weeks, the Obama administration is taking a fresh look at the question of military assistance.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who plans to visit Kiev on Thursday, is open to new discussions about providing lethal assistance, as is Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, officials said. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who is leaving his post soon, backs sending defensive weapons to the Ukrainian forces.

In recent months, Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, has resisted proposals to provide lethal assistance, several officials said. But one official familiar with her views said Rice was now prepared to reconsider the issue.

Fearing that the provision of defensive weapons might tempt President Vladimir Putin of Russia to raise the stakes, the White House has limited U.S. aid to "nonlethal” items, including body armor, night-vision goggles, first aid kits and engineering equipment.

But the failure of economic sanctions to dissuade Russia from sending heavy weapons and military personnel to eastern Ukraine is pushing the issue of defensive weapons back into discussion.

"Although our focus remains on pursuing a solution through diplomatic means, we are always evaluating other options that will help create space for a negotiated solution to the crisis,” said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

Fueling the broader debate over policy is an independent report to be issued Monday by eight former senior U.S. officials, who are to urge the United States to send $3 billion in defensive arms and equipment to Ukraine, including anti-armor missiles, reconnaissance drones, armored Humvees and radars that can determine the location of enemy rocket and artillery fire.

Michèle Flournoy, a former senior Pentagon official who was among those considered to replace Hagel as defense secretary, joined in preparing the report. Others include James Stavridis, a retired admiral who served as the top NATO military commander, and Ivo Daalder, the U.S. ambassador to NATO during Obama’s first term.

"The West needs to bolster deterrence in Ukraine by raising the risks and costs to Russia of any renewed major offensive,” according to the report. "That requires providing direct military assistance — in far larger amounts than provided to date and including lethal defensive arms.”

In his State of the Union address last month, Obama noted that the economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies had hurt the Russian economy.

But U.S. officials acknowledge that Russia has repeatedly violated an agreement, reached in Minsk in September. The agreement called for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, the removal of foreign forces and the establishment of monitoring arrangements to ensure that the border between Ukraine and Russia would be respected.

In recent weeks, Russia has shipped a large number of heavy weapons to support the separatists’ offensive in eastern Ukraine, including T-80 and T-72 tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery and armored personnel carriers, Western officials say.

NATO officials estimate that about 1,000 Russian military and intelligence personnel are supporting the separatist offensive; Ukrainian officials say the number is much higher.

A spokesman for Breedlove declined to comment on his view on providing defensive weapons, which was disclosed by U.S. officials privy to confidential discussions.

But a Pentagon official who is familiar with the views of Dempsey and Adm. James Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they believed the issue of defensive weapons should be reconsidered.

 

(dallasnews.com)