RUSSIAN MPs have called on the government to ship arms to the Donbass to help regional separatists confront a Ukrainian army boosted by Western weaponry, saying they face a threat on a par with that of World War II Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera.

The parliamentary leader of the ruling United Russia party Vladimir Vasilyev made the request in a statement on Wednesday saying such a response is necessary as the US floods Ukraine with weapons.

“We understand that they are pumping up Ukraine with missile systems, grenade launchers, and other supplies,” he said. 

“There are also instructors there to train them how to use this equipment. This is a great danger. It is preparation for military action, and nothing else. Military action against the peaceful population that lives there.”

“We have waited a long time for a reasonable decision to prevail in Washington, but this is not happening,” Mr Vasilyev continued. “We only hear about sanctions, and about weapons being sent into the conflict zone. We cannot accept this.”

The Russian politician said the unfolding situation was reminiscent of the Nazi regime and reminded him of Ukrainian far-right leader Stepan Bandera.

His Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) participated in the genocide of Poles and Jews during the Holocaust.

Bandera is lauded by the Ukrainian government that was installed after the EU and US-backed Maidan coup in 2014 which ousted then president Viktor Yanukovych.

In 2018 its parliament declared January 1 a national day of commemoration for the fascist collaborator and criticism of him is outlawed by the state.

United Russia said it is worried about the fate of its citizens in the the Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic which declared independence from Ukraine following the 2014 coup, but which are not recognised internationally.

“We have come to the understanding that we cannot abandon people to the whim of the regime in Kiev,” Mr Vasilyev said.