The United States has neither supplied Ukraine with long-range weapons nor encouraged strikes on targets on Russian territory, the BBC reports.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US had in no way encouraged the Ukrainian side to carry out such actions. He was speaking in a briefing after Russia announced that Kyiv is to blame for airfield accidents. Ukraine has not made official comments on this issue, and NATO has denied that long-range weapons have been supplied to Ukraine.
At a press conference on the 6th of December, Blinken accused Russia of deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure and pointed out that Moscow is using winter as a weapon, which now is the new reality of Ukraine every day and every night. Blinken said:
«We have neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia, but the important thing is to understand what Ukrainians are living through every day with the ongoing Russian aggression against their country.»
He added that Ukraine apparently has the equipment it needs to protect itself, its territory, and its freedom.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin echoed Blinken and stressed that the US would not try to prevent the Ukrainians from developing their own long-range weapons. Washington has already provided Ukraine with 19 billion dollars in financial aid to strengthen security.
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