The White House clarified the position on allowing Ukraine to launch strikes with American weapons on targets on the territory of Russia, and did not rule out that this permit may be expanded. This was stated during a briefing by White House national security communications adviser John Kirby on June 3, writes UNN with reference to Voice of America.
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Kirby journalists recalled that US President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use American weapons "on the very limited territory of Russia." US Secretary of State Anthony Blenken on the last day of his trip to Europe, said that the current permit may not be the last lifting of restrictions for Ukraine.
When asked what kind of permit extensions can be discussed for the armed forces of Ukraine, Kirby added that he does not want to get ahead of himself "regarding decisions that have not yet been made.
"As you know, at every step of this war, as the war changed, the conditions on the battlefield changed, we developed and changed our support for Ukraine. And I wouldn't expect the current overall approach to change in the coming weeks or months. Let's see how the situation develops and what the Ukrainians will need," Kirby said.
According to the White House communications adviser, the statements and appeals of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are understandable to them, since time was lost due to the delay in receiving help from the United States, and now the Russian Federation is intensifying attacks on Ukraine.
"Who can accuse President Zelensky of wanting to get more funds and have more opportunities to use these funds? After all, his country continues to be under attack, especially against the background of Russia's still consistent efforts to endanger Kharkiv, one of their most important cities in the North," explains Kirby.
The White House official did not rule out the possibility of expanding the permit for Ukraine in the future and stressed that everything will depend on the situation on the battlefield.
We will continue to conduct these conversations with Ukrainians. Of course we will. And whether this will lead to additional changes in the policy, I can't say yet. But we will not turn away from the needs of Ukraine. And we will continue to try to develop our support, depending on the development of the situation on the battlefield
Kirby also confirmed to reporters that US Vice President Kamala Harris, along with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan , will take part in the Ukrainian peace summit, which will be held on June 15 in Lucerne, Switzerland.
"At the summit, the vice president and Mr. Sullivan will emphasize the importance of countries around the world continuing to support Ukraine's efforts to ensure a just and lasting peace. Everyone knows that I think this war could have ended tomorrow if Mr. Putin had simply withdrawn his troops from Ukraine. Meanwhile, our allies and partners will continue to support the people of Ukraine, who are fighting every day to protect themselves from this aggression," Kirby said.
Journalists also clarified whether it would be a bad gesture that US President Joe Biden will join a Hollywood fundraising event on the day of the summit instead of the Ukrainian peace summit.
Answering this question, Kirby said that it was really bad to delay assistance to Ukraine in the US Congress for six months, which is why the Russian Federation launched increased attacks in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
"There has never been a single leader in the world who supported Ukraine more and more fervently than Joe Biden. Regardless of who will represent the United States at this summit - and this, by the way, will be the vice president - it cannot be said that the United States has somehow moved away from supporting Ukraine. More than a year ago, President Zelensky presented his formula for peace. In fact, he managed to do this and attract other countries to the negotiating table, because the United States supported this initiative of his. And we look forward to discussing in Lucerne with the vice president and Jake Sullivan to see what the United States can continue to do to support this," the White House national security communications adviser told reporters.