Senior Pentagon officer considers Ukraine buying armaments.

(RT) ⸻ The US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, has suggested that Ukraine should eventually step in to cover the costs of some weapons it receives from its Western backers. At a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Michael Garcia (R-Calif.) argued that it would be important for the US to initiate foreign military sales to Ukraine, rather than providing Kiev with arms for free. Wallander responded that while the Ukrainians had bought some weapons themselves, they "haven't done any big figure procurement from American companies.""They don't have that scale of capability in their budget right now… but it's a very good point that we also need to transition them to start their own defense spending planning as well as everything else we will do to support them," she said.Since the start of the Ukraine conflict more than one year ago, the US has committed to support Kiev with more than $31.7 billion in security assistance, including M1 Abrams tanks, hundreds of artillery pieces and thousands of anti-aircraft systems. Russia has repeatedly warned that arms shipments to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict. US President Joe Biden has vowed to support Ukraine for "as long as it takes," but that stance has faced some opposition from the Republican Party. Last year, Republicans introduced a resolution calling for an audit of US aid to Ukraine, but it was narrowly defeated in the House of Representatives.