DPR Warns US Lethal Weapons Won't Help Kiev 'Win Civil War' in Donbass

Donetsk People’s Republic's (DPR) spokesman Alexander Kostenko said Wednesday that the potential delivery of US lethal weapons to Ukraine on the pretext of the so-called "Russian aggression" is appealing to populism, adding that those arms won't help "win the civil war" waging in Donbass.

DONETSK (Sputnik) — Commenting on the possible supply of lethal weapons, Kostenko said that "the West had been supplying arms to Ukraine since 2014 without trying to hide the amount of the supplies." 

According to the spokesman, two sides are involved in the conflict in Donbass — Kiev and the self-proclaimed republics DPR and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).

"The West is yet again engaged in populism, by appealing to the expression of the 'Russian aggression' which is groundless and not legally proven. The international community has recognized at the Minsk talks that Ukraine and the Donbass republics were the sides of the conflict," Kostenko said.

Russian officials have warned time and again that sending arms to Ukraine would only escalate the conflict in Donbass. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on September 19 that the United States providing Kiev with lethal weapons would not promote the resolution in Donbass and would only trigger tensions.

The Ukrainian government has been looking to the European Union and the United States for both lethal and non-lethal aid since it launched a military operation in the east of Ukraine after local residents refused to recognize the new government that came to power in what they considered a coup. In August, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the United States was considering delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine.