Pentagon Says It Supports Ukraine Using US Weapons in Russia’s Kursk Oblast

 

Ukraine launched the offensive into Russian territory on Tuesday

by Dave DeCamp August 8, 2024 at 4:32 pm ET 

CategoriesNewsTagsRussia, Ukraine

The Pentagon said on Thursday that Ukraine is allowed to use US weapons in its offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, which began on Tuesday.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh was asked if Ukraine’s use of US-provided weapons in Kursk was “consistent” with US policy. “It is consistent with our policy,” she said.

Singh framed the attack on Kursk as a defensive operation against Russian attacks from across the border, saying the US has “supported Ukraine from the beginning to defend themselves against attacks that are coming across the border.”

For the first two years of the war, the US prohibited Ukraine from striking Russian territory with US-provided missiles but recently lifted that restriction in the wake of Russia’s offensive in Kharkiv. The administration claims it won’t support “long-range” strikes into Russian territory, but it’s not clear what the limit is.

“I’m not going to put a specific range on it,” Singh said when pressed about the possibility of the US supporting an attack on Moscow. She added that the purpose of allowing Ukraine to use US weapons in Russia was for “cross-fire” purposes.

The military situation in Kursk (SouthFront.press)

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces have used US-provided Bradley Fighting Vehicles in the incursion into Kursk. The sanctioned use of US armored vehicles in a ground operation into Russian territory marks a significant escalation in the proxy war and risks a major Russian response.

Last year, pro-Kyiv militias, including the neo-Nazi Russian Volunteer Corps, used US armored vehicles in raids into Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. At the time, the US said it was opposed to its equipment being used for such an attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that 1,000 Ukrainian fighters with dozens of armored vehicles entered Kursk. The ministry said it thwarted any breakthrough, but heavy fighting continued on Thursday.

Ukrainian officials haven’t directly acknowledged the assault, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russia needed to “feel” the consequences of its war. “Russia brought the war to our land and should feel what it has done,” he said.

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/08/08/pentagon-it-supports-ukraine-using-us-weapons-in-russias-kursk-oblast/