Are people criticizing Ukraine for defending itself?
I have heard many are upset at how much money the US is funneling into Ukraine. Especially when Zelensky was begging for money at the White House last year while his wife was on a 40K shopping spree.
The actual expenditure is way less than the apparent amount. Much of the hardware supplied to Ukraine is out of mothballed stock. Munitions age. Explosives, detonators and propellants have a use by date. Yes, there is a cost to restore some mothballed hardware to full functionality and yes, some weapons are new, not old stock.
Ukraine has asked for F16 jets. They are obsolete but still better than what they have. A number of airforces are, or have retired their F16's. There are thousands of Bradly IFV's and M1 Abrams tanks gathering dust. Some are being sent to Ukraine.
Ukraine is also a live fire test for modern hardware. The Patriot system is proving effective against Russia's best missiles. Either Patriot is brilliant or Russia's missiles are rubbish. Either way, the information is invaluable. Russia's arms sales have collapsed, partly due to sanctions but also because their weaponry has proven to be poor.
Supplying weapons is vastly cheaper than employing your own military. If Russia takes over Ukraine, another NATO country would be next on Putin's hit list. That is a scenario that needs to be avoided whatever the cost.