US Senator Says Ukraine Needs Arms, Not Training
12:54 04/06/2014
WASHINGTON, June 4 (RIA Novosti) – The US should provide arms to the Ukrainian government, not training, US Senator Tom Coburn told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
"I'm not sure we need the training as much as we need to arm the Ukrainians. I would send a signal that we're behind the Ukrainian government and they need the weapons to defend the integrity of their territory," said Coburn, a Republican member of the Senate intelligence committee.
Earlier this week US announced $1 billion European Reassurance Initiative to bolster military presence in Eastern Europe.
According to a White House fact sheet, the initiative would focus on training and including NATO friends and allies in military exercises.
Additionally, the proposed $1 billion fund would go towards increasing US Navy deployments in the Black and Baltic Seas, and building "the partner capacity of close friends such as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine so they can better work alongside the United States and NATO, as well as provide for their own defense."
The initiative must pass through Congress before funds are authorized.
Following Crimea's reunification with Russia, NATO has been systematically stepping up its presence near the Russian border, citing a need to protect its allies. The Black Sea has seen a spike in NATO military activities over the past few months, including dispatch of several warships. An Italian reconnaissance vessel, the Elettra, is expected to arrive in the Black Sea by June 15.
The chairman of the All-Russian Movement for Fleet Support, Mikhail Nenashev, told RIA Novosti that the presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea is a continuation of the West's aggressive pressure on Russia and is likely to trigger a similar response from Russia.
Russian Ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko earlier suggested that the alliance 'is trying to use to its maximum the crisis in Ukraine in order to prove its relevance in the current security environment,' while Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu described NATO troops activity near Russian borders as 'unprecedented.'
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