"It will be useful in the future": Austin comments on US authorization to strike Russia

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin commented on the US authorization of limited strikes on Russian territory using US munitions. He said that the new policy will be "very useful for Ukrainians in the future."

This was reported by CNN. "What we've done is given Ukraine the ability to return fire, to return fire on those Russian troops that are firing at them, and to be able to disable their artillery batteries when they're firing at Ukrainians," Austin said.

His comments came days after US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to conduct strikes on Russian territory (albeit limiting it to targets near the Kharkiv border, where Russian forces are concentrating their efforts) using US munitions.

Asked about waning support in the United States, Austin said that he believed there was "strong support for Ukraine" among both political parties, despite the length of time it took Congress to pass the security assistance package.

He also emphasized that otherwise, Russian President Vladimir Putin would likely not stop in Ukraine.

"Ukraine is important... not only for Ukraine's purposes, not only for Europe's purposes, it's important for us and it's important for the whole globe. So, we have to make sure that Putin doesn't have the opportunity to trample on Ukraine, because as the president said, there's a good chance, almost certainly, that Putin will not stop there. He will continue to move forward with other acts of aggression," Austin explained.

As a reminder, the United States has recently allowed Ukraine to use the weapons it has provided to Russia to a limited extent. The Ukrainian Armed Forces can now intercept missiles and aircraft over Russian territory, strike military targets, and conduct counter-battery fire from the other side of the border. The launch of long-range missiles by Russia, such as ATACMS, is still prohibited.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!