Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
Pentagon Reportedly Recommends Lethal Aid Package For Ukraine
The U.S. Defense Department has recommended sending a package of lethal military aid to Ukraine worth about $50 million, the U.S. NBC television network has reported.
NBC published the report on August 4, citing three unnamed officials who said the recommendation has been forwarded to the White House for consideration.
A Pentagon spokesperson refused to confirm the report, but told NBC that "we haven't ruled anything out."
The reported weapons package purportedly would include Javelin shoulder-launched antitank missiles.
Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea in early 2014 and has provided extensive military, economic, and political to separatist militants in eastern Ukraine.
During a visit to Kyiv last month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg asserted that Russia has "thousands" of troops on Ukrainian soil.
Although Russia denies military involvement in the conflict, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2016 determined the conflict to be "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."