Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

The Daily News, Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Ukraine:

The situation in Ukraine is getting worse every day.

Pro-Russian rebels are destabilizing that country, and the latest reports are that the Russian military is sending in heavy military hardware such as heavy machine guns, tanks and anti-aircraft guns.

Russian officials deny they are backing pro-Russian rebels, but it is quite obvious from information on the ground that they are not being truthful.

The Russians have a lot of blood on their hands. While it has not been 100 percent confirmed, it is known that a Malaysian passenger plane shot down a few weeks ago by a surface-to-air missile was launched from an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside of Ukraine. The death toll from the incident is 289.

Some Ukrainian soldiers have been killed by these pro-Russian rebels as well.

The bottom line is the people of Ukraine need help. They are literally fighting for the survival of their country.

The government in Ukraine has asked for help and indicated it needs heavy weaponry to try to fend off pro-Russian rebels.

The U.S. has just given them meals ready to eat, or MREs, night vision goggles, canteens and bullet proof vests.

This is a nice gesture, but these are things that aren’t really going to turn the tide on the battlefield.

We agree with President Barack Obama and other leaders that there should be no American boots on the ground in Ukraine, but we could give that nation such things as anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank weapons, heavy machine guns and artillery, ammunition, tanks and other types of hardware they need.

By doing so, we would be keeping boots off the ground, protecting an ally and showing Russia we will not tolerate its aggression on a sovereign nation.

We would also be giving the Ukrainian military a lifeline where it could prevail.

They deserve a chance to defend themselves, but they need the necessary military hardware.