US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Kiev where pro-Western leaders hope Washington will send weapons to help them battle pro-Russian separatists.
His visit on Thursday comes as international pressure grows for an immediate halt to the surging violence in eastern Ukraine, with 19 civilians and troops killed in the latest rebel push into government-held territory.
In Brussels, NATO was set to agree a major boost to the alliance's defences near its Russian borders, including a quick-reaction spearhead force of 5000 troops.
Despite growing talk of Washington arming Ukrainian forces, a State Department official said only that Kerry would unveil $US16 million ($A20.57 million) in US humanitarian aid.
Kerry will meet President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin ahead of a security conference in Munich on Friday during which he will sit down with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
"We have a Russian government talking the talk of ceasefire, talking the talk of peace, even as it fuels this conflict," a senior State Department official said.
Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Moscow of sending thousands of regular army troops and weapons to support the rebels who launched an uprising against Kiev in April.
And while Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations, the separatists are equipped with the advanced weaponry of a regular army.
The fighting has claimed more than 5350 lives since April, including 220 in the past three weeks.
President Barack Obama's nominee for defence secretary Ashton Carter said on Wednesday he was likely to support providing weapons.
In a move is likely to irk Moscow, NATO will also decide on six "command and control" units in Eastern European nations to ensure the new quick reaction force hits the ground running.
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