U.S. Army infantryman fires a Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile during a combined arms live fire exercise as part of Exercise Eastern Action 2019 at Al-Ghalail Range in Qatar, Nov. 14, 2018.

WASHINGTON — The State Department on Thursday approved a possible foreign military sale to Ukraine for 150 antitank missiles and related support equipment worth approximately $39.2 million.

Ukraine requested the Javelin missile system early this past summer, and the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, brought up the missiles in the July 25 phone call with President Donald Trump that led Democrats to kick off an impeachment inquiry last week.

The Defense Department notified Congress of the possible sale Thursday.

"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of Ukraine. The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements," the State Department said in a release.

"It's a defensive contribution, the Javelin," U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, the nation's top general in Europe, told reporters at the Pentagon. "It affords a soldier the opportunity to put a resource in his or her hands that affords the opportunity to protect their sovereign turf. It's a sophisticated capability, it's a modern capability, it has great precision, it has great speed."