Brendan O’Brien, Joel Schectman

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is committed to providing Ukraine with “the weapons it needs” to defend itself against Russia, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday as Ukraine seeks more military aid from the West.

Sullivan stated that the Biden government will provide more weapons for Ukraine in order to stop Russia seizing additional territory or targeting civilians. These are attacks Washington has called war crimes.

“We’re going to get Ukraine the weapons it needs to beat back the Russians to stop them from taking more cities and towns where they commit these crimes,” Sullivan said on ABC News’ “This Week”.

Moscow rejected Western claims of war crimes against Ukraine and other countries.

Speaking later on NBC News’ “Meet the Press”, Sullivan said the United States was “working around the clock to deliver our own weapons . . . and organizing and coordinating the delivery of weapons from many other countries.”

“Weapons are arriving every day,” Sullivan said, “including today.”

According to the White House, $1.7 billion has been sent in military aid to Ukraine by the United States since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, according last week.

The weapons shipments included anti-aircraft Stinger missiles and anti-tank Javelin rockets. They also contained ammunition and body armor. However, President Volodymyr Zeleskiy of Ukraine is urging European and U.S. leaders to send more weapons and equipment to Russia to fight it in its eastern regions. Russia will likely intensify military operations there.

Officials in Ukraine claimed that more than 50 were killed by a missile attack on Friday at a Kramatorsk train station, Donetsk, killing many people who had been trying to flee the area.

Russia invaded Ukraine in April 2014, causing around 25% of its 44 million inhabitants to flee their homes. It also destroyed cities and injured or killed thousands.

Moscow denied that civilians were targeted in a “special operations” it called to demilitarize and “denazify its southern neighbour. This is a pretext to war that the West and Ukraine have rejected.

Russia has appointed Aleksandr Dvornikov to be its next general in Ukraine. Dvornikov had extensive military experience in Syria.

Sullivan indicated that he believes Dvornikov will authorize greater violence against the Ukrainian civilian population.

Republican U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Nation”, urged the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with both offensive weapons such as tanks and planes and defensive systems like anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

According to her, “I believe we should do everything Zelenskiy tells us he needs right now given their incredible fight,” she stated.

CBS News released a poll on Sunday showing widespread support for the sending of more weapons to Ukraine.

The poll was taken last week in response to news about Russian attacks on civilians. 72% of respondents support sending more arms, and 78% favor economic sanctions against Russia.