Gleb Garanich/Reuters
A top U.S. military officer said Tuesday the U.S. should "absolutely" consider providing lethal weapons to Ukraine in their battle against Russia-backed separatists. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “I think we should absolutely consider lethal aid and it ought to be in the context of NATO allies because Putin’s ultimate objective is to fracture NATO." It's likely Dempsey meant providing assistance along with NATO allies instead of solely through U.S. channels. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the European Council met via video conference and threatened Russia with more sanctions if the ceasefire pact fails. Ukraine officials also announced Tuesday that three servicemen had been killed and nine wounded over the last several days.