Cheat Sheet: Obama rethinks assisting Ukraine
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According to CBS News, President Obama is reconsidering sending lethal support to Ukraine. He is remaining concerned about the effect the step will have and the risks of a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia. A senior administration official said Obama is alarmed about the surrounded Ukrainian military’s capacity for using high-powered, American supplied weaponry. The United States has limited their supplies to Ukraine’s military to non-lethal aid. Some officials have been insistent to the President to step up the assistance. CBS News reported that an official said Obama is willing to take a fresh look at supplying Ukraine with lethal aid, along with other options for calming tensions, since there has been a recent rise of violence in the eastern part of the country. Obama wants to discuss the issue with European leaders. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is said to be visiting Washington next week to discuss the issues with Obama. Merkel told CBS that Germany will not provide weapons to Ukraine. Merkel also said, “It is my firm belief that this conflict cannot be solved militarily.”Pro-Russian rebel fighters are pushing toward the Ukrainian military in eastern Ukraine to try and surround them. On Friday, Jan. 30, at least 12 civilians were killed due to the entire area of Debaltseve becoming a battleground. Obama and several European leaders have focused their efforts to end Russia’s advances on Ukraine on sanctions targeting Moscow’s most cost-effective economic sector – as well as individuals close to Vladimir Putin – said CBS News. Since the predicament between Ukraine and Russia began early last year, the U.S. led NATO alliance has attempted to strengthen the Ukrainian military’s command, control, communications and computer capabilities, as well as improve logistics and standardization, cyber defense, military career transition and the rehabilitation of injured troops, according to CBS News. But the alliance has no military hardware of its own; therefore, each of the 28 member nations is free to help Ukraine.