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Washington claims it does not support Ukraine's strikes inside Russia

Wednesday, 23 August 2023 3:50 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 23 August 2023 4:03 PM ]

A man inspects the damage sustained to a building of the Moscow International Business Center (Moskva City) following a drone attack in Moscow on August 23, 2023. (Photo by TASS)

The United States claims it neither encourages nor supports Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, hours after Russian air defense systems managed to down hostile drones that tried to attack Moscow.

In a statement on Wednesday, a US State Department spokesperson said that Washington does not encourage or enable Ukrainian strikes inside the Russian Federation after Russian authorities said that they had foiled a drone attack allegedly from Ukraine against Moscow early in the day.

It is up to Kiev to decide how it chooses to defend Ukraine from the Russian war against the ex-Soviet republic, the spokesperson said, claiming that Moscow could end the war any time by pulling out its troops from Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, Russian authorities said that the country's air defense systems had destroyed three "Ukrainian" drones that attempted to stage a “terrorist attack” on Moscow.

Russia says drone attack on Moscow foiled, 3 killed in border region

Russia said on Wednesday it had destroyed three Ukrainian drones that attempted to stage a “terrorist attack” on Moscow, but three people were killed in a drone strike near the Ukrainian border.

The downed drone damaged the glazing of the Neva Tower in the Moscow City district on three floors, TASS quoted emergency services as saying.

"The glazing of the Neva Tower in the Moscow City district was damaged on the 11th, 12th and 13th floors on an area of about 100 square meters after the crash of the downed drone," the source said.

Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory while the matter is seen as an open secret.

Ukrainian drone strikes on the Russian capital have increased significantly since two unmanned aircraft were destroyed over the Kremlin in early May, signaling a change in Kiev policy.

Observers link the new development to Kiev's failure on the battlefield despite receiving all-out material and political support from the West.

Russia says downs 11 Ukrainian drones near Crimea, 2 others bound for Moscow

The Russian military says it has managed to down 13 Ukrainian drones near Crimea and Moscow.

Ukraine launched a hyped counteroffensive in early June after multiple postponements, but till now, the counteroffensive against Russia has been to no avail.

The Kremlin says the West and NATO are playing a direct role in the Ukraine conflict by pouring advanced weapons and military equipment into the country, warning that NATO weapons are "legitimate targets" for its armed forces.

Moscow has frequently warned that continued supply of Western arms and military equipment to the Ukrainian military would only prolong the war and add to the suffering of Ukrainian people.

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