As Russian political rhetoric gets increasingly paranoid, expect Zhirinovsky to raise the bar...
U.S. Senator John McCain is visiting Ukraine:
U.S. senators call for arming Ukraine:
By RFE/RL
U.S. Senator John McCain has again called on the United States to send weapons to Ukrainian forces fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
At a press conference in Kyiv on June 20, McCain (Republican-Arizona) said it would be "disgraceful and shameful" for the West not to act as Russian President Vladimir Putin, in McCain's view, sought to dismember Ukraine.
McCain, one of the most vocal supporters in the U.S. Congress on arming Ukraine, said the Ukrainians had "proven they are willing to fight."
Speaking alongside McCain, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (Republican-Arkansas) said Western leaders had offered Putin numerous "off ramps" to deescalate the conflict in eastern Ukraine, but Putin, according to Cotton, had ignored these chances.
Now, Cotton said, was the time to start building "road blocks, including supplying arms to Ukraine's military.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked for international help to boost its defensive capabilities.
Western countries have so far declined its requests to supply weapons, while offering nonlethal military aid and training.