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A political analyst says NATO is providing Ukraine with cluster weapons and Grad rockets in the battle against pro-Russians in the east of the country, Press TV reports.

Sara Flounders, from the International Action Center, told Press TV in an interview that the current government in Ukraine is an illegal one, which has come to power through a coup with the support of the US and NATO.

She said that, according to documents, NATO is now arming Kiev with cluster weapons to crush the resistance in Ukraine’s restive eastern region.

The government in Kiev “is ruling with an iron fist against its own people and using the most horrific weapons to stop resistance in east Ukraine. So, it is a government that has no economic solutions to the population except to try to tie Ukraine to the European Union and to NATO,” Flounders said.

Asked about the possibility of a political solution in Ukraine, she replied, “A political [settlement] can come if there is a decision by NATO to put pressure on the Ukrainian government, but instead, at this point, they send trainers, military and economic support.”

The only political solution to the crisis, she said, is the recognition of the resisting forces in the east, who want to determine their own future.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to press Kiev over Ukrainian forces’ use of cluster bombs and Grad rockets during military operations against pro-Russia forces in the east.

The rights group said in a statement that Merkel should put pressure on Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to issue specific orders to Ukrainian troops not to use such weapons in residential areas.

Ukraine’s two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in mid-April in a bid to crush protests.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.

According to the latest figures released by the United Nations, more than 4,700 people have been killed in the fighting and over 500,000 people have been displaced.