The United States President Barack Obama can decide to supply arms to Ukraine for self-defense without the approval of the Senate, said Jim Inhofe, a deputy head of the Senate Committee on Armed Forces.
Speaking at a briefing in Kyiv on Oct. 28, Inhofe said that such a decision does not require legislature approval and the arms in questions, i.e. weapons needed for self-defense, can be provided without additional legislative resolutions. The president can make such a decision and the Senate can encourage him to do so, he said.
If no such decision is made by Obama, the issue will be considered by the Senate, the senator said.
The Armed Services Committee will do whatever it can to make it happen, Inhofe said.
As regards how soon the U.S. can provide Ukraine with weapons for self-defense, the senator said that it could take from four to five days up to two and a half weeks.
Inhofe also said that the Ukrainian defense minister gave him a list of needed weapons.
The list has been handed over to the Senate committee, he said.
The senator refused to tell which weapons were on the list.
