Arming Ukraine Risks Bolstering Rebels as Obama Weighs Options
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Providing arms to the Ukrainian government for its war against pro-Russia rebels would paradoxically hand the separatists a military advantage, according to defense analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
With Ukrainian forces seeking advanced weaponry that requires extensive training, any decision by the U.S. and its allies to provide equipment would take months or even years to have an impact, during which time Russia would most likely boost supplies to rebels with potentially devastating results, said Ben Barry, the IISS’s senior fellow for land warfare and a retired British Army brigadier.