The Pentagon did not grant Ukraine permission to use US weapons in Russia despite the attack on Kharkiv
The spokeswoman said that the military department openly called it a condition for the supply of American weapons
Russia's attack on Kharkiv did not affect the US Department of Defence's position on Ukraine's use of US weapons provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of military assistance. It is still not allowed to use it for strikes on Russian territory.
Source. This was stated by Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh during a briefing.
"The Ukrainians are asking for this permission. It is very difficult for them to respond to Russian attacks coming literally from abroad when the Russians know that they are basically safe there," the journalist asked.
"We believe that the equipment and the capabilities that we provide to Ukraine should be used to return Ukrainian sovereign territory," Singh said.
Asked whether this was a mandatory requirement or whether Kyiv could consider the Pentagon's clarification a request, Singh said that the military department had openly called it a condition for the supply of US weapons.
"In every contact group on Ukraine's defence, it is discussed that the weapons that are provided are, again, intended for use on the battlefield," the spokeswoman said.
According to Singh, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, in his conversations with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov, always discusses how best to use these funds. "And we believe that this should be done within the Ukrainian territory," she added.
On 15 May, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington still does not encourage Ukraine's strikes outside its territory, but he stressed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces should "decide for themselves how to conduct" the war.
Kyiv has asked the US to approve strikes on Russia amid its offensive in Kharkiv region, which has resulted in Ukraine losing more than 10 villages and forcing it to redeploy reserves from other areas. According to representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, such permission will allow them to destroy military depots and break through Russian air defences along the border, which will slow down the advance of the Russian army in this direction.
Background. Not all Western countries support the US position. In early May, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said during a visit to Kyiv that Ukraine has the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets in Russia in self-defence. After that, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened retaliatory attacks on British military facilities.
In early May, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said that Ukraine had received permission from several other partners to use Western weapons to strike at Russia, but did not specify which countries.
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