Senators call for lethal aid to Ukraine
A bipartisan group of 12 senators -- all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee -- called on President Obama to provide lethal aid to Ukraine. The chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said that the U.S. "must act with urgency to provide defensive lethal assistance to Ukraine."
While McCain said the aid would not enable Ukraine to defeat Russia in a full-fledged war, it would at least make it more expensive for Russia to continue its offensive. Lethal aid could, he said, "pierce the veneer of the Kremlin's cynical and false narrative that there are no Russians in Ukraine."
The U.S. currently gives humanitarian and non-lethal supplies to Ukraine -- Secretary of State John Kerry just announced another $16.4 billion in such aid to Ukraine Thursday.
In contrast, Russia has been arming separatists with heavy, state-of-the-art weapons, air defenses and fighters, a point of frustration for McCain. "You just can't stand by and watch people being slaughtered with superior equipment. You know, blankets don't do very well against tanks," McCain said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, told reporters, "We need to see that Putin understands nothing but force. He is a thug. He has not responded to sanctions. Sanctions are not working."
McCain said that while the bipartisan group of senators is asking the administration for the lethal assistance, on another track, lawmakers would also be working on legislation calling for the aid to be sent.
And although he'd like to see more aid come from Europe, McCain did not sound optimistic. "I'm hopeful, under German leadership the Europeans will come around and be much more active in supporting Ukraine. Frankly, I'm not overly optimistic as long as they are dependent on Russian energy," he said. "They have been a huge disappointment to me."
The European Union relies heavily on exported energy, with over one-fourth of the oil and gas used in Europe originating in Russia.