'No doubt' America will give us weapons, says Ukraine, amid fears of 'catastrophic' escalation

Some 224 killed in past three weeks, as Ukraine's president says he is in "no doubt" the US will provide weapons for fight against Russian-backed separatists

An elderly Ukrainian man is helped by a Ukrainian Army soldier and a citizen during a evacuation of civilians in Debaltseve, in the Donetsk region

Ukraine's president said yesterday there was "no doubt" the US would provide weapons for its fight against Russian-backed separatists, as a UN report warned the escalation in deadly clashes would be "catastrophic" for civilians.

A recent surge in fighting has seen the civilian death toll in eastern Ukraine rise by 224 in the past three weeks, bringing the total killed in the conflict to over 5,350, according to the UN.

Washington signalled this week that it may now be prepared to arm Ukraine government troops in the conflict, an unprecedented intervention which would raise the threat of a proxy war between it and Moscow.

"I have no doubt that a decision on the possible delivery of arms to Ukraine will be approved both by the United States and by our other partners," Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's president, said yesterday.

"We have to have the means to defend ourselves," he told journalists in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, arrives in Ukraine tomorrow in a show of support for the country's pro-Western leadership.

President Barack Obama's administration had previously ruled out sending weapons to Ukraine's government but the failure of economic sanctions to force Moscow to halt alleged military support for the separatists has prompted a second look at the option.

Washington has so far provided non-lethal assistance to Ukraine, including flak jackets, medical supplies, radios and night-vision goggles.

Intense fighting remains focused around the battleground town of Debaltseve, a strategic railway hub between the rebel strongholds Donetsk and Lugansk where separatists are fighting to encircle Ukrainian forces.

At least 19 civilians and five government troops were killed in fighting with pro-Russian rebels over 24 hours yesterday.

By Andrew Marszal