Washington: The US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, told Congress on Tuesday that Ukraine should eventually step up and pay for some of the weapons it receives from its Western backers.
Rep. Michael Garcia (R-Calif.), who was testifying before the House Appropriations Committee, said that rather than giving Kiev free weapons, the US should start foreign military sales to Ukraine. He claimed that this "would go a long way with American taxpayers."
In response, Wallander stated that although the Ukrainians had actually purchased some weapons on their own, they "had not done any big figure procurement from American companies."
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She added, "It's a very good point that we also need to transition them to start their own defence spending planning along with everything else we will do to support them. They don't have that scale of capability in their budget right now.
The US has pledged to provide Kiev with more than $31.7 billion in security assistance since the conflict in Ukraine began more than a year ago, including M1 Abrams tanks, hundreds of pieces of artillery, and thousands of anti-aircraft systems. Russia has cautioned that arming Ukraine will only make the conflict worse.
Despite US Vice President Joe Biden's pledge to back Ukraine for "as long as it takes," this position has encountered some criticism, particularly from the Republican Party.
Earlier this month, a group of Republican lawmakers introduced the "Ukraine Fatigue Resolution," which urged "all combatants to reach a peace agreement" while urging Washington to "end its military and financial aid to Ukraine."
Late last year, Republicans introduced a resolution spearheaded by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling for an audit of US aid to Ukraine. Early in December, though, it was narrowly defeated in the House of Representatives.
