Missile attack on Ukraine: Biden's administration discusses whether to allow strikes on Russian airfields
Coordinator of the US National Security Council for Strategic Communications, John Kirby (photo: Getty Images)
The US will not rescind Ukraine's permission to strike Russian territory near the state border, states John Kirby, the US National Security Council's coordinator for strategic communications.
"There's been no change in our policy. You saw the president several weeks ago gave guidance to Urkaine that they can use US supply weapons to strike targets just over the border. That's still the case," he said.
However, Kirby did not provide a clear answer to the journalist's question about whether the US could allow the Ukrainian Air Force to strike military airfields deep inside Russia where hostile strategic aviation is based.
Massive missile shelling of Ukraine on July 8
On Monday morning, July 8, Russia launched a large-scale missile strike against Ukraine. The aggressor simultaneously released 40 missiles of various types from multiple directions. The attacks targeted Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk.
In particular, in Kyiv, one X-101 missile destroyed the building of the largest children's hospital, Okhmatdyt. Over 50 people, mostly medical staff, were injured as a result of the hospital shelling. According to recent reports, 27 people, including two children, have died in the capital, with 82 others injured.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will eventually receive permission to strike Russian bombers at Russian airfields with Western weaponry.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that Western countries should allow Ukraine to attack Russian military targets with Western weapons. This move could disrupt the aggressor's large-scale offensive operations.
