The Call To Arm Ukraine Intensifies

Members of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic army collect parts of a destroyed Ukrainian army tank in Vuhlehirsk, about 10 km (6 miles) west of Debaltseve, February 16, 2015. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Steven Pifer, Reuters: How to arm Ukraine without starting World War Three

The Feb. 12 Minsk II Ukrainian ceasefire agreement brokered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a fragile arrangement. Most analysts hold modest expectations. The past few days are proving them right.

Separatist and Russian forces have continued their attack on Ukrainian forces at Debaltseve, despite the ceasefire that supposedly took effect on Saturday. Separatist leaders assert the ceasefire does not apply there, while Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman claims that Moscow is not part of the conflict or the agreement.

President Barack Obama and other Western leaders continue to hope that the ceasefire will take hold. But if Minsk II unravels, as did the first Minsk ceasefire of last September, pressure will likely grow on the White House to provide greater military assistance — including defensive arms — to Ukraine.

WNU Editor: This analysis is flawed on so many levels that I do not even know where I can begin. First things first .... the Ukraine military has been trained to use Soviet/Russian era weapons .... to switch it to Western style arms and weapon systems will take time .... a lot of time .... with the best estimates saying two years. Talk about arming has already opened deep divisions within Europe and the U.S. .... supplying these weapons will only aggravate these relations. The U.S. may have the Atlantic Ocean between them and Europe, but Ukraine is within Europe, and it is the Europeans who will be dealing with the fallout .... something that they know too well. Russia has also not been helpful in this crisis .... and I know that they will see such a development as a start to a proxy war .... and they will respond in kind .... opening a Pandora's Box that we may all live to regret later on. There is also the crisis within Ukraine itself. For a population of 46 million people they are now living in an economy that has collapsed, a society that is deeply polarized, and a government that has shown itself unable and unwilling to implement necessary reforms and compromises. The last thing that this population needs right now is more weapons and more war .... but unfortunately many in Washington, Kiev, and in some European capitals .... this is exactly what they want.