If Ukraine is well armed, then it can change the current situation and potentially become a deterrent to Russia's future ambitions, Simmons told the RBC Ukraine news agency. She believes that the conflict in Ukraine will be long.
The West needs to supply enough weapons to Ukraine so that the it can strategically change the situation in the long term, Simmons said, adding that the exact amount of aid is a "nonbinary" issue.
Less than one-third of UN member states joined the anti-Russian statement on the situation in Ukraine, announced on Wednesday at the headquarters of the organization. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that it showed that most UN countries did not support Kiev's anti-Russian statement, as the world is beginning to understand the scale of the crisis caused by the actions of the West in and around Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldier wears a protective suit and a gas mask during exercises of Ukrainian anti-chemical weapons forces in Kalyniv, 620 kilometers (390 miles) west of Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, March 14, 2003
© AP Photo / EFREM LUKATSKY
Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls by the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics for protection from Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the goal of the operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, is to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine, and to completely liberate Donbass. Western countries responded by sanctioning Russia and boosting arms supplies to Ukraine.
In April, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia.