U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is to hold talks in Ukraine, as Washington mulls whether to start sending weapons to help Kiev fight pro-Russian militias, BBC News reports.

Kerry will meet Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk in Ukraine's capital.

Ashton Carter, the White House's choice for defense secretary, earlier said he was "inclined" to start supplying arms.

The U.S. has so far only provided "non-lethal" assistance to Ukraine, such as night-vision goggles and radios.

But President Barack Obama is said to be reconsidering his position, accusing Russia of escalating the conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia denies accusations by Ukraine and the West that it is arming the separatists and sending its regular troops across the border. Fighting has intensified in recent weeks.

Kerry will meet President Poroshenko and Yatseniuk on Thursday, Feb 5 morning, and a news conference is expected later in the day.

The issue of weapons deliveries to Ukraine and other U.S. assistance is expected to be one of the main items on the agenda.

Kerry will then travel to Munich to take part in the annual security conference in the southern German city.