US Considers Arming Ukraine to Fight Separatists

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — A growing number of senior military and civilian advisors to President Obama support providing defensive weapons to Ukraine as that country comes under increasing attacks by Russian-backed separatist groups.

New discussions about specifically what aid to provide the fledgling Ukrainian forces come as pro-Russian rebels announced plans to increase their ranks to 100,000 volunteers in the coming weeks. Observers say the rebels are unlikely to find so many additional volunteers, and this could just be a cover to bring in more Russian troops.

Cease-fire talks broke down following some of the deadliest fighting to date, with 28 Ukrainian soldiers killed.

Multiple senior U.S. officials confirm that chief among those advocating for a more aggressive support is Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s military commander, as The New York Times first reported on Sunday. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who will likely be replaced by the end of the month, also supports sending defensive weapons. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to discuss the issue with Ukrainian leadership when he visits Kiev on Thursday.

So far the U.S. has provided Ukrainians with mostly non-lethal aide, including night vision goggles, Explosive Ordinance Detection robots, armor and patrol boats. The U.S. has even provided counter-mortar radar systems designed to locate the launch point of incoming mortar rounds.

But those systems can’t defend against the artillery attacks, which are devastating Ukrainian civilians and military forces. The U.S. has sophisticated defensive systems to locate artillery rounds at its disposal, but providing those systems has proven to be a more delicate military and political dilemma. That’s because most of the artillery fire is coming from inside Russia, while the mortars are coming from the rebels.

U.S. officials, discussing the matter on the condition of anonymity, tell ABC News the Obama administration is wary of providing weapons that would directly engage Russian forces, a move that would all but solidify a proxy war with Putin.

“We are constantly assessing our policies in Ukraine to ensure they are responsive, appropriate, and calibrated to achieve our objectives,” the White House said in an emailed statement Monday. “That said, we are particularly concerned about recent escalating separatist violence and separatist attempts to expand the territory they currently occupy further beyond the ceasefire line agreed to in Minsk on September 19, as well as the increasing toll of civilian military casualties.”

The statement also said the White remains focused on “pursuing a solution through diplomatic means.”

But a new report generated by a group of former senior American officials, including the former NATO commander Adm. James Stavridis, says the U.S. needs to “bolster deterrence in Ukraine” by providing $3 billion in defensive military aid to the Ukrainians over the next three years.

The report says that support should include, among other things, sending unmanned surveillance drones, electronic anti-drone devices, armored Humvees, light armored missiles, and counter-battery radars.

Those counter-battery radars would extend the Ukrainian reach far beyond the counter-mortar radars provided by the U.S. so far. “Ukrainian military officials praised the counter-mortar radars provided by the United States and now in use along the line of contact, but they observed that those radars have a range of only six to seven kilometers,” the report says. “They expressed very strong interest in acquiring longer-range counter-battery systems that could detect MLRS [Multiple Launch Rocket System] launches and artillery firing out to a range of 30-40 kilometers and enable the Ukrainian military to target those systems with its own MLRS and artillery. (The Grad MLRS, which the Russians/separatists have used to great effect, has a range of 20 kilometers.)”

In a briefing to reporters at the Pentagon last Thursday, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, agreed that not only do the Ukrainians need the advanced radar, but they need training on counter-fire systems to destroy the rocket launchers. He also said the Ukrainians need help in the area of electronic warfare.

“The electronic warfare environment is very heavily contested,” Hodges said. “It is very difficult for Ukrainian forces to be able to operate on radios, telephones, other non-secure means of communications because their opponents have such an exceptional amount of jamming capability. Even if you can acquire where rockets or mortars are coming from to be able to do something about it is very difficult when you can’t communicate.” Tools that could be used to combat Russia’s communication jamming techniques are included in the recommendations from the Atlantic Council.

The Atlantic Council also strongly recommends that other countries assist the Ukrainians as well. Officials suggested the administration would like to work out a deal in which at least one of its partner states provides those sensitive anti-artillery weapons systems. But on Monday German Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear her country will not provide weapons. “It is my firm belief that this conflict cannot be solved militarily,” Merkel said.

An administration official speaking for the White House said there are discussions about what new systems to provide, but declined to discuss them specifically because of the sensitivity of the matter.

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