A Ukrainian separatist leader on Thursday urged Russia to send modern weapons to the breakaway statelets to help them defend themselves against Western-backed Kyiv forces.
Denis Pushilin spoke after Russia's ruling party urged the Kremlin to start arming the separatist-held regions with tensions soaring between Moscow and the West.
"First and foremost, we need to counter the Bayraktars," he told pro-Kremlin spin doctor Vladimir Solovyov in an online interview, referring to Turkish-made drones.
Solovyov said Russia was capable of supplying separatists with next generation weapons instead of Kalashnikov assault rifles and Soviet-era machine guns.
Pushilin said: "We need to talk about the weapons you mean."
Pushilin, the self-declared leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, accused Kyiv authorities of continuing to prepare for an offensive and stocking up on ammunition and fuel.
On Wednesday, a senior member of United Russia, Vladimir Vasilyev, said the governing party had asked the country's leadership to start arming Ukraine's separatist-held regions.
