The U.S. is discussing the issue of a possible supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine, while a final decision has not been taken yet, a senior U.S. State Department official said.

Many in Washington speak in favor of helping Ukraine protect itself, restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty, he said during a telephone briefing on Tuesday.

There is an internal discussion on specific ways to do this, as there is nothing to report about the supplies of defensive weapons yet, the high-ranking diplomat said.

Earlier on Tuesday, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti expressed the opinion that the United States should consider the possibility of providing lethal defensive weapons to Kyiv.

"I personally believe that we need to consider lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine. They are fighting a very lethal, tough enemy. It's Russian proxy, really, and the Russians provide some of their newest equipment there in order to test it," he said during the hearings in the House of Representatives.

In his words, the U.S. needs to help Ukraine with defensive weapons.