US officials continue to attempt to clarify US policy regarding Ukraine’s ability!!!
By: S K Singh Editor-in-Chief
WAR-REPORT:- US National Security Spokesperson John Kirby stated during a press conference on June 4 that “there’s never been a restriction on the Ukrainians shooting down hostile aircraft, even if those aircraft are not necessarily in Ukrainian airspace.”
Kirby made this statement in response to a question about whether America’s recent partial lifting of restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to strike targets within Russia with US-provided weapons pertains to strikes against Russian aircraft operating in Russian airspace. Kirby suggested that Ukrainian forces can shoot down Russian aircraft within Russian airspace if they “pose an impending threat” to Ukraine and stated that Ukrainian forces already have done so since the beginning of the war.
It remains unclear what the official US policy on what Russian aircraft constitute “an impending threat” to Ukraine, and Kirby’s statements did not elucidate how the US administration views this issue. ISW continues to assess that Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against devastating Russian glide bomb strikes is heavily contingent on Ukraine’s ability to target Russian aircraft within Russian airspace using US-provided air defense systems before Russian aircraft can launch strikes at Ukrainian cities, critical infrastructure, and frontline positions.
The current lack of clarity in US restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-provided weapons to strike Russian military assets within Russia has routinely missed the opportunity to force Russia to self-deter against conducting such strikes on Ukrainian territory from Russian airspace. Russian forces continued to conduct intense glide bomb attacks against Ukraine on June 5, likely largely from Russian airspace.
Kirby also stated during the press conference that the US cannot confirm if Ukraine has already used US-provided weapons in strikes on Russia since the US partially loosened its restrictions on May 30, but the Associated Press (AP) reported on June 5, citing an unnamed US senator and Western official, that Ukraine has used US-provided weapons to strike Russia “in recent days.” ISW has observed geolocated footage from June 1 or 2 that shows a likely Ukrainian HIMARS strike on a Russian S-300/400 air defense system in Belgorod Oblas
