Defense Secretary James N. Mattis condemned Russia’s attempts to “redraw international borders by force” and pledged support for Ukraine on Thursday but stopped short of promising U.S. weapons for Ukraine’s fight against pro-Russian separatists.

Mattis is the first Pentagon chief in a decade to visit Ukraine, which has been on the front lines of Russian aggression since Moscow’s annexed Crimea in 2014 and began supporting armed insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

Deliberations in the Trump administration have heated up in recent months over whether to provide lethal defensive weapons, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles, to Ukrainian forces that are battling the separatist insurgency.

The debate has been awkward for President Donald Trump, who continues to face multiple investigations into whether his 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Moscow to interfere in the election.

Washington has no treaty obligations with Ukraine and the Obama administration gave nonlethal military aid to the government in Kiev. It also shared intelligence and posted U.S. troops to the Lviv region in western Ukraine, far from the conflict zone, to train Ukrainian soldiers.

Critics fear sending sophisticated U.S. arms to a low-level conflict on Russia’s border would worsen Washington’s already perilous relations with Moscow. Advocates argue that the war has been prolonged because the U.S. has not provided stronger support.

Senior Defense and State Department officials have privately supported proposals to supply more lethal weapons, according to U.S. officials, but the White House has yet to make a decision.

Standing beside Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko at the presidential building in Kiev, Mattis indicated he was in favor of stepping up military aid, but he stopped short of committing to it.

Mattis said he doesn’t consider providing defensive weapons as controversial because Ukraine is fighting a foreign enemy in defense of its sovereign borders.

“Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you’re an aggressor, and clearly Ukraine is not an aggressor since it’s their territory where the fighting is happening,” he said.

Mattis declined to reveal his advice to Trump on the issue, saying, “I owe him some confidentiality on that.”

Washington has provided Ukrainian forces with about $750 million in nonlethal materiel since November 2015, including small reconnaissance drones, Humvees, and night-vision goggles, according to the Pentagon.

The aid includes mobile radars that can be used to warn against incoming mortar and artillery attacks and to pinpoint their source.

Poroshenko said Thursday he was grateful for the U.S. contributions, but that further aid would apply greater pressure on Moscow and deter Russian forces from further incursions.

“Having discussions about lethal weapons would increase the price if Russia made the decision to attack my troops and my territory,” he said. “And that would be a strong motivation to stop them.”

Poroshenko met with Trump at the White House in June. The administration subsequently announced additional financial sanctions on Russians involved in supporting the secessionists in Ukraine.

The fighting has continued despite several cease-fires negotiated by international leaders. The efforts include the 2015 accord known as the Minsk Agreement, an accord that calls for Russia to end its occupation of Crimea.

Russia has funneled heavy weapons and deployed some 3,000 Russian troops into eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials say.

Ukraine aspires to join Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and other former Soviet bloc nations in NATO. But Russian President Vladimir Putin is strongly opposed to further expansion of the military alliance that originally was created to counter the Soviet Union.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson already has visited Kiev to show support. On Thursday, the 26th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the former Soviet Union, he voiced backing for the beleaguered country

“We remain steadfast in our support for your sovereignty, territorial integrity and democracy,” Tillerson said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and other Republican hawks in Congress have urged Trump to break with the Obama-era limits on sending lethal weapons to Ukraine.

“It is long past time for the United States to provide Ukraine the defensive lethal assistance it needs to deter and defend against further Russian aggression.” McCain said in a statement.

Doing so was part of the Republican Party’s platform at its convention last year until it was cut by the Trump campaign. Since then, the administration has declined to commit one way or the other.

“We’re not going to rule that out right now,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Wednesday. “No decisions have been made.”

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(Times correspondent Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report.)

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