U.S. believes allowing Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with American weapons not to escalate tensions

The U.S. president's permission for Ukrainian defenders to use American weapons against targets located Russian soil will allow Ukraine to better defend itself and is not something that further escalates conflict.

This was stated by U.S. State Department spokesman Matt Miller in Washington on Wednesday, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.

"We do not (think so – ed.)," Miller remarked in response to a question of whether Washington considers the authorization for Ukraine to use American weapons against targets inside Russia an escalation.

He stressed that the United States "will continue to take appropriate actions to respond to what President Putin has done to allow Ukraine to defend itself".

The spokesman for the State Department emphasized that the aggressor in the war in Ukraine is Russia, and it is President Putin who constantly escalates tensions.

"It's Russia that is rolling its military equipment right up to the border and using it to shell civilian targets, and we think it's appropriate that Ukraine be able to defend itself," said the spokesperson.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinen announced President Biden's decision to allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use American weapons against targets located on Russian soil.