White House: Ukraine can shoot down hostile aircraft over Russia

Ukrainian forces are not limited to striking Russian warplanes that pose a potential threat or drop guided bombs from Russian territory.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said in response to a question about whether the permission for Ukrainian forces to use U.S.-made weapons involves striking Russian bombers outside Ukraine.

"I just want to note, there has been some confusion on this. There's never been a restriction on the Ukrainians shooting down hostile aircraft, even if those aircraft are not necessarily in Ukrainian airspace," Kirby said.

He specified that the Ukrainian Armed Forces "can shoot down Russian airplanes that pose an impending threat."

In addition, according to him, Ukrainian forces have been doing this since the beginning of the war.