WASHINGTON, July 22 – U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Milley has said he supports providing Ukraine with lethal defensive equipment to counter the artillery of Russian-backed rebels.

He named Russia as the greatest threat the U.S. faces today, the Washington Times reported on its website on Tuesday.

"Russia is the only country on earth that contains a nuclear capability that could destroy the United States," Milley told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee at a hearing to consider his nomination as the next Army Chief of Staff.