US agrees to send lethal weapons to Ukraine, angering Russia

WASHINGTON – 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.

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 U.S. has provided Ukraine with support equipment and training, and has let private companies sell some small arms like rifles.

Ukraine accuses Russia of sending the tanks, and the U.S. says Moscow is arming, training and fighting alongside the separatists.

The intensified support for Ukraine's military also comes amid early discussions about sending U.N. 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.

By approving a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, the Trump administration could see it as providing leverage in these negotiations.

Alexander Vershbow, former deputy secretary general of NATO and a former ambassador to Moscow, said a U.N. peacekeeping mission could serve as cover for Russia to withdraw its forces and weapons from eastern Ukraine.

President Barack Obama also considered sending lethal weapons to Ukraine, but left office without doing so.

In a statement late Friday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. had decided to provide "Enhanced defensive capabilities" to help Ukraine build its military long-term, defend its sovereignty and "Deter further aggression.”

"U.S. assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself," Nauert said.

Although the portable Javelin anti-tank missiles can kill, proponents for granting them to Ukraine have long argued they are considered "Defensive" because the Ukrainians would use them to defend their territory and deter the Russians, not to attack a foreign country or seize new territory.

Sending lethal weapons to Ukraine also creates the troubling possibility that American arms could kill Russian soldiers, a situation that could thrust the two nuclear-armed nations closer to direct confrontation.