United States, Europe Clash Over Arming Ukrainian Forces
The United States and Europe seem to have major disagreements about what steps should be taken next in order to help bring the crisis in eastern Ukraine to a close.
The New York Times reports that the root of the schism was German Chancellor Angela Merkel's direct and public opposition to the provision of lethal aid to the Ukrainian military. So far, Western governments have limited their involvement in the conflict to the provision of non-lethal aid such as radar, meals-ready-to-eat, and uniforms.
Recent gains by pro-Russian separatists, who are said to be backed up by regular Russian troops, have led the United States to openly discuss the possibility of providing arms to the Ukrainian Army in an effort to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to deescalate the situation.
Support for arming the Ukrainian government has been high in the US Congress since hostilities broke out, but the Obama Administration had been tepid about the issue until recently.
Merkel believes that continued economic sanctions, which combined with a drop in global oil prices to force the Russian economy into a recession, should be enough to eventually bring Russia to the negotiating table. She alluded to the history of the Cold War in making this claim, saying that the strength of democratic values and economic opportunity, not weapons, led to the end of that historical drama.
The separatists are threatening two crucial logistics hubs in eastern Ukraine, Debaltseve and Mariupol. Should the locations fall under rebel control, the rebels would possess an enormous, connected swathe of eastern Ukrainian territory. Control of those cities would also allow the rebels to more easily move men and supplies, allowing them to more easily continue their offensive against the Ukrainian Army.
