The Pentagon said that Kyiv should independently pay for the weapons supplied to it
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander said that, in the opinion of the United States administration, Ukraine should begin to pay for the arms supplied to it on its own. She made the corresponding statement at a hearing in the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives of Congress, TASS reports .
As Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) noted, it would make a big difference to American taxpayers if Kiev began to acquire weapons itself, rather than getting them for free, although it is currently experiencing difficulties. In response, Wallander pointed out that the Ukrainian authorities have so far “did not make any major purchases from American (military) companies.”
“They don’t have that scale of capacity in the budget right now, but they should start acquiring some (military) assets,” she said.
According to Wallander, “it’s a very good idea” that the US needs to get Ukraine “to start planning for its own defense spending and everything else that we will do to support it.”
On February 20, US President Joe Biden announced that Washington would provide Kiev with a new $500 million military aid package. According to the head of the White House, the new package will include HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, which are already being used by Ukrainian troops in the special operation zone.
Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin admitted that Washington would stop helping the Kiev regime if Poland annexed part of Ukraine.
