The United States on Tuesday said it is not encouraging Ukraine to launch strikes deep inside Russia, after several drone strikes, believed to have been launched by Ukrainian forces, hit Russian air bases.
“We are not encouraging and we are not helping Ukraine to launch strikes in Russia,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.
“But what you have to understand is that Ukrainians live every day with the ongoing Russian aggression,” he said, accusing Moscow of “weaponising winter” by bombing Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.
“What we are determined to do is to make sure that they have in their hands — with many other partners in the world — the equipment they need to defend themselves, their territory and their freedom,” Blinken added.
At least three strikes were carried out at Russian bases on Monday and Tuesday: on Engels air base, which hosts Russia’s fleet of giant strategic bombers; in Ryazan, where three service personnel were killed; and in the southern city of Kursk.
Experts believe Ukraine may have used Soviet-era drones rather than modern drones.
Asked earlier about the operations, State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to attribute the recent drone strikes to Kyiv, which has not claimed responsibility.
“We are providing Ukraine with what they need to use on their sovereign territory — on Ukrainian soil — to confront the Russian aggressor,” Price said.
The State Department also declined to comment on media reports that the US had modified Himars, very powerful and sophisticated artillery systems intended for Ukraine, to prevent them from being used to attack Russia.
US President Joe Biden has said publicly that he does not encourage Ukraine to acquire long-range missiles, fearing an escalation that could lead the US to take a more direct role against Russia.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside Blinken after talks with their Australian counterparts, stressed however that the US was not preventing Ukraine from developing its own long-range missiles.
“The answer is no. We are certainly not doing that,” he said. “We are not doing anything to prevent Ukraine from developing its own capabilities.”
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