President Biden announced $800 million in new military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, just days after Congress cleared a $1.5 trillion spending bill that included nearly $14 billion for Ukrainian humanitarian aid and security assistance.

Experts warn that sending more lethal weapons could escalate war and result in more losses for Ukraine.

“The cost on civilian lives is horrific,” says Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, in an interview with Democracy Now!

Increasing military aid in Ukraine, Bennis suggests, could thwart peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which had appeared to be making progress in the past few days. In the interview, Bennis discusses the current state of affairs in Ukraine, including talk of a no-fly zone, a potential 15-point agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Watch the full interview below:

This interview originally aired at Democracy Now! on March 17, 2022.