U.S. gives Ukraine green light to drone strikes on Russian territory - The Times

The Times, citing U.S. Defense Department sources who wished to remain anonymous, wrote that the U.S. no longer insists that Ukraine not conduct strikes, including drone strikes, on Russian territory.

Details

Previously, the Pentagon feared that strikes on Russian territory would escalate the conflict: for example, that Russia would then use nuclear weapons or retaliate by hitting NATO countries. But now the agency has changed its mind.

"We still use the same calculations of escalation, but the fear of escalation has changed. It's different now. That's because the calculus of war has changed as a result of the suffering and brutality that Ukrainians are subjected to at the hands of the Russians," the source notes.

This came after numerous Russian attacks and shelling of Ukrainian critical civilian infrastructure and energy facilities.

"We are not telling Kyiv 'Don't hit the Russians.' We can't tell them what to do. How they use their weapons is up to them, but when they use the weapons we provide, we insist only that the Ukrainian military follow the international laws of war and abide by the Geneva Conventions," the Pentagon source stresses. According to him, Ukraine complies with these conditions.

At the same time, the US does not publicly support or encourage strikes on Russian territory.

Source: The Times

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