“We don’t want conflict with Russia”: the Pentagon has not changed its mind about strikes deep into Russia
28 August 2024 09:39
US Department of Defence spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder has reiterated the US position on the conflict and the use of US weapons by Ukraine. He said this during a briefing at the Pentagon, reports "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the Voice of America.
“We are not at war with Russia. We do not seek conflict with Russia. We’re just supporting a democratic country… and giving them the ability to defend themselves,”
– ryder said.
He stressed that the Pentagon’s policy on the use of US weapons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike Russian territory remains unchanged:
“The Ukrainians can use the security assistance provided by the United States to defend themselves against cross-border attacks, that is, to fire back. But as for long-range, deep strikes against Russia, our policy has not changed.”
This statement came against the backdrop of Russia’s recent large-scale missile attack on Ukraine. The attack involved more than 100 missiles and about a hundred drones, and targeted critical civilian infrastructure.
In response to these actions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again called on Western partners to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons to strike Russian territory. Politico reported that Umerov and Yermak will take a list of deep targets in Russia to the United States and ask for permission to strike them.
Western weapons and permits for their use
As is well known, the US(and Germany after them) allow the use of weapons provided by them only for strikes on the border territories of Russia. This permission was granted by US President Joe Biden only at the end of May, and before that, strikes on Russian territory with US weapons were generally prohibited.
However, towards the end of June, unofficial statements were heard from the US side that the restrictions “do not apply to geography or a certain radius”. This means that Ukraine is allegedly able to strike at those facilities and territories from which attacks on Ukraine are directly directed, even if they are deeper than the border areas.
Experts say that border strikes will not change the situation at the front, so Zelenskyy is asking his partners for permission to use their weapons on Russian territory. Some Western countries have already given such permission.
A classic military strategy involves trying to move the fighting to the enemy’s territory as quickly as possible.
