Poroshenko calls on NATO to supply weapons to Kiev

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called on the NATO countries to supply weapons to Kiev, saying in a newspaper interview that civilian casualties and the growing conflict give the Western alliance enough reason to come to the aid of Ukraine.

Senior representatives of the Obama administration on Monday said that Washington was once again considering whether to supply weapons to Ukraine to fight pro-Russian separatists, but added that the decision has not yet been made.

“The escalation of the conflict that is happening today, the increasing number of civilian casualties, especially after the terrorist attacks in Volnovakha and Donetsk, and the bombardment of Mariupol ... should lead the alliance to provide Ukraine with additional support,” Poroshenko said, according to a widely distributed interview text published in the German newspaper Die Welt on Thursday.

“Among other things, we are talking about the supply of modern weapons to protect and resist the aggressor,” said the President of Ukraine.

Poroshenko stressed that Ukraine wants peace, but even peace needs to be protected, and therefore Kyiv needs a strong army and new, modern weapons, writes Voice of America.