According to John Kirby, the White House has been “pretty darn clear” with Kiev over the use of weapons provided by the US.
Visual evidence of US-supplied weaponry being used in this week’s assault by Ukrainian terrorists in Russia’s Belgorod Region has once again been denied by Washington as unverified “reports” that call for additional study. However, the administration of President Joe Biden has reportedly expressed alarm that Kiev may have breached its purported promise not to employ American weapons outside of its own borders.
According to US media site Politico, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby displayed some “frustration” at the strike during a news conference on Wednesday. He said the government is “looking into” claims that equipment from the US “could have been involved” in a fatal raid on Grayvoron’s Belgorod area.
“We’ve been pretty darn clear that we don’t support the use of US-made equipment for attacks inside Russia,” Kirby told the press. “We have been quite explicit with the Ukrainians about that. I won’t divulge the private conversations we have with them, but I believe we have been steadfast in expressing our concerns.
One day prior to Kirby’s remarks, US State Department and Pentagon officials attempted to throw doubt on images and video footage that amply demonstrated the insurgents’ use of American-made weapons and equipment, including Humvees and MaxxPro MRAP armored battle vehicles. The evidence is described as “fuzzy pictures” by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who also told reporters that the US government is “skeptical of their veracity.”
Multiple US vehicles that had been destroyed and abandoned were seen in the high-definition pictures and video, which the Russian Defense Ministry also shared. In a counterterrorism operation, the military said that scores of saboteurs were killed, while others were forced back into Ukrainian territory.
Kiev has made an effort to distance itself from the attack by saying that neo-Nazi groups known as the “Freedom of Russia Legion” and “Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK)” were responsible for carrying it out. The Kremlin retorted that it was a distinction without a difference since the terrorists used Western-supplied armaments to fight alongside the Ukrainian troops. The Pentagon said that no equipment deliveries to paramilitary groups outside of the Ukrainian armed forces have been authorized by the US.
US Vice President Joe Biden has attempted to steer an international campaign of sanctions against Russia and provide Ukraine military supplies worth billions of dollars without starting a direct conflict with Russia. Publicly, US officials have consistently said that this endeavor to disassociate Washington from any intrusions on Russian territory is the reason for the ground rules banning the use of US-made weaponry outside of Ukrainian territory.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a news conference on Saturday that Washington is “going to proceed in a way that avoids World War III – that precept has remained intact.”
Russian authorities, however, believe that the US is directly involved in the situation in Ukraine since Washington continues to provide Kiev with more sophisticated weapons. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier this month accused Washington of aiding Kiev’s terrorist acts in Russia, including a drone strike on Moscow that was allegedly an effort by Ukraine to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin.
