The President of Ukraine says he doesn’t have the slightest doubt that the United States will send weapons to his country to help fight pro Russian separatists.

Petro Poroshenko said on a visit to a government-controlled city in eastern Ukraine today that his country “needs the capabilities to defend itself.”

Government forces have been fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine for 10 months in a conflict that has left more than 5,350 people dead.

U.S. President Barack Obama has opposed sending lethal assistance to Ukraine’s government, but a senior administration official told The Associated Press earlier this week the surge in fighting has spurred the White House to review the policy.