ISW: US uncertainty about strikes on Russia contributes to shelling of Ukrainian cities by Russian aircraft
Officials' public statements about US policy on Ukraine's use of its weapons remain unclear.
According to Ukrinform, this is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
US officials continue to try to clarify Washington's policy on Ukraine's ability to strike a limited number of Russian military targets in the Russian Federation with US weapons. However, public communication on US policy remains unclear, which contributes to the continued shelling of Ukrainian cities by the Russian Federation.
In particular, US National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said during a press conference on 4 June that "there have never been any restrictions on Ukrainians shooting down enemy aircraft, even if those aircraft are not necessarily in Ukrainian airspace". At the same time, he clarified that Ukrainian forces can shoot down Russian aircraft in Russian airspace if they "pose a direct threat" to Ukraine.
"It remains unclear what the official US policy is on which Russian aircraft pose an 'immediate threat' to Ukraine, and Kirby's statements did not clarify how the US administration views this issue," the analysts said.
According to ISW, Ukraine's ability to defend itself from the devastating effects of Russian guided bombs depends largely on Ukraine's ability to engage Russian aircraft in Russian airspace with US-provided air defence systems before Russian aircraft can strike Ukrainian cities, critical infrastructure and frontline positions.
"The current lack of clarity on U.S. restrictions on Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied weapons to strike Russian military targets in Russia tends to make it impossible to force Russia to disengage from such strikes on Ukrainian territory from Russian airspace," the report says.
As reported by Ukrinform, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken officially confirmed that President Joe Biden had given permission for Ukraine to use US weapons to strike military targets in Russia.
The German government has also stated that Ukraine can use weapons provided by Germany to defend itself against Russian attacks launched directly from the border areas.
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