Despite Ukraine using U.S. Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) strikes on Thursday that hit a Russian facility in Alushta in Crimea, Washington says it has not changed its policy on Ukraine using U.S.-provided missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia, the top State Department spokesman said.
Ukrainian forces used advanced U.S.-provided missiles to hit a Russian air defense force communications center in the latest escalatory action that has essentially been given the green light by the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to accept a ceasefire at current battlefield lines, but has the stamina and ability to fight in Ukraine for as long as it takes for the Kremlin to achieve its objectives, four Russian sources told Reuters last week.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Ukraine last week and promised the country that Washington will continue to provide its weapons “so we could turn the tide on the battlefield as Russian forces continue to advance in the north.”
Emmanuel Macron, the French president intent on playing an important role in Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, announced last week that Paris will provide Kyiv with another military package that was previously unannounced as Russian forces seize more territory in the north.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed “the world” for his country’s inability to defeat Russia and recent losses in the north—while explaining that billions sent by the U.S. to Ukraine generally end up in U.S. factories, creating American jobs.
Victoria Nuland, the former under-secretary of state for political affairs at the U.S. State Department, said in an interview Sunday that the U.S. needs to permit Ukraine to strike Russian territory with weapons provided by Washington.
The situation in Ukraine has gone from bad to worse as Russia increases attacks in the north.
Ukraine carried out separate drone strikes last week on two oil depots inside Russia as it intensifies its effort to strike “soft targets” within Russia to prove to the West that it remains a solid investment to weaken the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended this year’s Moscow Victory Day Parade and addressed the war in Ukraine—funded by the West—and said Russia’s “strategic forces are always at combat readiness,” referring to his nuclear arsenal.