A bipartisan group of leading House lawmakers led by Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to send lethal aid to Ukraine’s beleaguered military.
In a letter to Obama, the lawmakers called the Russian invasion of Ukraine "a grotesque violation of international law, a challenge to the West, and an assault on the international order established at such great cost in the wake of World War II." They noted that Ukrainian lawmakers were in Washington this week to appeal for weapons from the Pentagon and the White House’s National Security Council staff.
"In the wake of a cease-fire agreement that appears only to have consolidated Russian and separatist gains since the first Minsk agreement, and in anticipation of the near certainty that Russia and its separatist proxies continue their efforts to destabilize Ukraine and seize additional territory, we urge you to quickly approve additional efforts to support Ukraine’s efforts to defend its sovereign territory, including through the transfer of lethal, defensive weapons systems to the Ukrainian military," they wrote.
"The Congress has already, with overwhelming bipartisan support, provided you with the authorities, resources, and political support to provide assistance, including lethal, to the government and people of Ukraine," the lawmakers added, a reference to the Ukraine Freedom Support Act signed into law by Obama in December.
Eleven members of Congress signed the letter in total, including the chairmen of the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence Committees.
Several current and former U.S. officials have suggested that the United States should consider arming Ukraine, including Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. More than 6,000 people have been killed in the nearly yearlong conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.