WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama should provide arms to the Ukrainian government, considering that the Minsk ceasefire has failed between Kiev and the independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, US Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said in a press release on Tuesday.
“It is inexcusable to adhere to a failed ceasefire agreement as Russia and its Ukrainian proxies escalate their uncompromising siege of Debaltseve,” the senators said in the press release. “It is long past time to provide defensive weapons to Ukraine.”
The senators explained that because conditions on the ground indicate diplomacy has been ineffective, the United States should help build-up the Ukrainian security forces.
Russia has consistently denied the allegations of being involved in the Ukrainian crisis.
Hostilities continued in the southeastern city of Debaltseve on Tuesday, despite the agreed ceasefire that was supposed to take effect on February 15. More than five-thousand Ukrainian servicemen were reportedly encircled near Debaltseve, according to the deputy commander of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
Earlier on Tuesday, the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine had generally been observed with the exception of Debaltseve, according to monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
On February 12, a ceasefire agreement was outlined by leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany in Minsk as part of a broader settlement aimed at resolving the conflict.
