Is The US Already Arming Kiev With Lethal Weapons?Brandon Turbeville Other reports also suggest that the debate over whether or not to provide lethal assistance to the Ukrainian government was settled to the affirmative some time ago. According to the New York Times, the NATO military commander, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, is leading the charge in support of the US move to further arm the Kiev junta with lethal weapons. Capt. Gregory L. Hicks, spokesman of the Navy, told the New York Times that General Breedlove has repeatedly stated that he supports the pursuit of a diplomatic solution as well as considering practical means of support to the government of Ukraine in its struggle against Russian-backed separatists. The New York Times also reports that Secretary of State Skull and Bones John Kerry as well as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey are open for discussions regarding the possibility of arming the Ukrainian military. Susan Rice, US National Security Advisor, is also reportedly ready to entertain the idea of providing lethal assistance to Kiev. In addition, as RT reports, The West needs to bolster deterrence in Ukraine by raising the risks and costs to Russia of any renewed major offensive, the report says. That requires providing direct military assistance in far larger amounts than provided to date and including lethal defensive arms. The report points out the urgent need to rearm Ukraine because of the outdated capabilities of the countrys military. It argues that light anti-armor missiles are necessary to battle the volunteer troops of LPR and DPR. This report comes in addition to the recent passage of the Ukraine Freedom Act, which authorizes the President to provide both lethal and non-lethal aid to Kiev including anti-tank weapons, ammunition, and troop-operated surveillance drones. Yet, for all the consideration and mulling taking place, the truth is that the United States has been backing Kiev and its forces all along. The question now is whether or not the United States is willing to do so openly. For instance, it has been well-known that American military mercenaries (aka contractors) like Blackwater have been operating in Ukraine for at least a year. As RT reported in May, 2014, The Bild am Sonntag newspaper, citing a source in intelligence circles, wrote Sunday that Academi employees are involved in the Kiev military crackdown on pro-autonomy activists in near the town of Slavyansk, in the Donetsk region. On April 29, German Intelligence Service (BND) informed Chancellor Angela Merkels government about the mercenaries participation in the operation, the paper said, RIA Novosti reported. It is not clear who commands the private military contractors and pays for their services, however. In March, media reports appeared suggesting that the coup-imposed government in Kiev could have employed up to 300 mercenaries.That was before the new government launched a military operation against anti-Maidan activists, or terrorists as Kiev put it, in southeast Ukraine. Sputnik also relates the activities of Blackwater/ Academi fighters presence inside Ukraine. On December 31, 2014 the news agency reported, The source, who spoke to Russias ITAR-TASS news agency, specified that the $3.5 million training will include marksmanship, operations by assault groups in urban conditions, close combat and combat and logistics support for the battalion, areas of focus that Blackwater is intimately familiar with from its time in Iraq. In fact, if its deployment there is any indication, then it may be training Ukraines experimental battalion to carry out the same carnage in Donetsk in the future that Blackwater did in Baghdad in the past. Its an open secret that the ceasefire hasnt ceased any firing on either side, and Kievs forces seem to be gearing up for a continuation of war. Urban warfare training wont help them stop a mythical Russian invasion (likely to be fought more in the fields than the foyers if it did happen), but would definitely come in handy in subjugating the self-defense forces in Eastern Ukraines main cities. Yet, while some may attempt to discount the presence of Blackwater mercenaries on the grounds of technicality since they are not official US troops, they would do well to remember that the United States has already committed a number of military personnel to Ukraine in the form of advisers, the famous designation that has preceded several of Americas quagmires. As Chuck Vinch wrote for the Military Times wrote in June, 2014, Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said senior U.S. defense officials met with senior Ukrainian officials earlier this week to discuss ways our countries could strengthen our long-term defense cooperation to help Ukraine build highly effective armed forces and defense institutions. The dispatch of advising teams to Ukraine was not just a one-time deal either. It was stated months after the initial announcement that the United States was going to continue its policy of sending personnel to act as advisers and provide training to the Ukrainian junta. Still, others have called into question whether or not advising and training is all these individuals and teams are doing. For instance, a video that surfaced recently taken in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol seems to prove what many have suspected for some time that US operatives are on the ground inside Ukraine assisting the junta army in their campaign of extermination of eastern Ukrainians. The video shows a Ukrainian journalist approaching a number of men in Ukrainian military uniforms and attempting to ask a question of what she thinks is a Ukrainian soldier. As she approaches the man, she asks in Ukrainian, Tell me, what happened here? to which he responds in perfect American English (no foreign accent), Out of my face! Out of my face, please. Reports coming out of Ukraine also seem to demonstrate that the United States has already made its decision whether or not to provide Kiev with lethal assistance. For instance, an article entitled, Militia DNR: Ukrainian army uses US missiles, and published on the Russian website Life News Russia, reports that members of the DNR (Donetsk Peoples Republic) militia have found shell fragments that do not belong to the Ukrainian military. Those armaments, according to the DNR militia members, belong to the United States. The report states, (please note the translation is very rough) As reported from the scene [by a] correspondent [from] LifeNews, January 31, the Ukrainian military fired [on the] Gorlovki Cathedral [a] shell landed on the roof of the temple grounds in the refectory, with the result [being] that there was a fire. Later [,the] DNR militia found several fragments of shells that do not belong to Ukrainian artillery, and even more so do not use Soviet or post-Soviet military equipment. According to their hypothesis, the APU use weapons that belong] to NATO. Deputy brigade commander [of the] DNR Army call sign Biker showed shells and said that it was after the shelling Ukrainian military militia are [inflicting upon] the DNR militia. This is a special projectile 155-caliber self-propelled artillery of the M109 A1 American production, which is used by the NATO countries. On this apparatus is installed [a] bottom detonator. If it gets into the walls and get stuck in it, then he shall rend it easily. If it gets into the interior of the building, the blast wave will happen indoors. It is these shells militia found after a fire in the building of the Cathedral, and these fragments are the main evidence that the temple has been under fire from NATO guns. In addition, during the shelling, Gorlovki militias are increasingly finding shells, which are analogous to the Castle, only the size of a smaller caliber than our arms, and is only 75 mm. The following projectiles that we found a 75-caliber. They belong to the jet burst system, which is installed on all terrain vehicles a more mobile system that can move easily through the streets of the city says militia Biker information. The brigade commander also addressed the presence of foreign troops fighting for the Kiev junta. He stated that The presence of foreigners in their army and radio intercepts confirm our intelligence when we hear interceptions phrases in English and Polish. That the campaign against eastern Ukraine is actually a campaign of extermination of the eastern people is not exactly a well-kept secret either, except, of course, to the Western public. Some of the evidence corroborating the claims of intentional targeting of civilians on the part of the Kiev regime was recently uncovered by Ren TV, a major Russian news network (privately owned). While covering a skirmish taking place in Ozeryanovka, the journalists got an up-front look at the artillery coordinates of the Ukrainian military. These coordinates were indeed civilian targets such as restaurants, cafes, and markets. The positions were abandoned after an assault by the Donbass militia who subsequently recovered the artillery coordinates and held them up for the camera to see. The report, which can be seen in this video was transcribed by Eric Zuesse of Washingtons Blog. It states, This is a field near the village of Ozeryanovka, from which recently was a Ukrainian battery firing at Gorlovka: [The rebel soldier says that many of these abandoned tanks and other weapons are undamaged, and They will say tomorrow that Russia supplied them to us, but its actually their equipment that will be repaired if necessary but will be used at war against them. Views of Government-destroyed Gorlovka are shown.] In the [rebel-]destroyed dugouts were found notebooks of cannon commanders, maps. The documents show that shelling of the city [by the Government] was not random, but deliberate.The coordinates of the targets are shown. For examples, one is a restaurant, another a cafeteria or a market where no militiamen were stationed. Here are their target-maps, irrefutable evidence of war crimes. In yet another interview that was transcribed by Zuesse and broadcast on the Hromandske TV, a pro-regime television station that is apparently funded by the United States and Dutch government as well as George Soros, it was openly stated that civilians and civilian infrastructure was being openly targeted by the Kiev fascists. The first interview is with Commander of the Ukrainian Governments Volunteer Shaktarksk Battalian, Ruslan Onishcenko. Onischenko states, Our mission, being employees of the Ministry of the Interior, is to clean the cities, after the army has worked this territory with aircraft, artillery and heavy military equipment. This is a normal tactical approach to warfare. Col. Vladimir Ruban Ret. was also interviewed by Hromadske where he seconded Onischenkos sentiment. He said The interview continues: ANSWER: Yes, there are many of those, shells that fail to detonate. But Gorlowka has been fortunate to have not yet been totally eradicated from the face of the earth, along with the civilian population. INTERVIEWER: You mean that the city is bombarded violently? ANSWER: Gorlowka was shelled by our troops, [even] as I went there for the prisoner exchange. Although it was known that I was there, they [our troops] kept up the bombardment of Gorlowka. Clearly, the US and NATO mission inside Ukraine, much like its mission inside Syria, has nothing to do with concern over human rights, democracy, or the lives of civilians. In fact, quite the opposite is the case. The US and NATO are interested in their geopolitical positions, the encircling of Russia, and world hegemony. If civilians get in the way, then civilians will be eliminated. To be sure, the Russians have their own elite fighters operating inside Ukraine as well. However, it should be noted that, while both sides are playing geopolitical games, it was the United States that initiated the Euromaidan color revolution, the putsch of neo-Nazis and fascists, and the push to include Ukraine as a NATO member. But this, of course, is what makes the game so dangerous. The potential for a collision between two nuclear powers is one that concerns every human being and every living thing upon this planet. The United States and Russia hold the power to eradicate a significant portion of the population in a single blast and much of what remains in the fallout. Thus, the decision on to arm the Ukrainian junta is undoubtedly one that must be opposed. Recently from Brandon Turbeville: Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He has a Bachelors Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of six books, Codex Alimentarius The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies,Five Sense Solutionsand Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, and The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria.Turbeville has published over 300 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbevilles podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV. He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com. 