The Ukraine military has been in combat with separatists and has garnered international attention. Casualties continue to grow, and separatists are not eager to call a truce. The West, including the United States, have been backing the Ukraine in its conflict with the rebels, but have been careful to supply military aid to Ukrainian forces.
In light of recent attacks on Ukrainian forces, however, the United States is considering a policy of sending lethal military aid. Previously, President Obama avoided sending military weaponry to the Ukraine, but instead tried to discourage Russia's support of the separatists through economic sanctions. Though the economic sanctions dropped the value of the Russian ruble dramatically, the separatists continue to be supplied with heavy military equipment. The U.S. tactic of aiding the Ukraine without sending lethal aid was to avoid providing an incentive for Russia and Putin to react more dramatically and exacerbate the conflict.
Russia denies any involvement with the separatists, but the amount and nature of the military equipment the separatists operate strongly indicates active and direct Russian involvement. For instance, in the past few weeks the Russians reportedly shipped over T-80 and T-72 tanks as well as rocket launching systems to the separatists.
NATO supports the involvement of the United States and other western countries in the fight against the Russian-backed separatists. Further, an independent group of former United States officials published a report on Monday that encourages the United States involvement in the Ukraine. The report calls for $3 billion dollars in missiles, UAV, and other equipment to the Ukraine forces to combat the separatists.
The separatists have captured roughly 190 square miles of Ukrainian land. The attempts to curtail Russian involvement have fallen short, and various military officials urge the United States to send lethal military aid to the Ukrainian forces. A U.S. increase in military aid would potentially spur other western nations to follow suit and send military equipment to fight the separatists.
