Day 287: Washington 'Neither Encouraged Nor Enabled' Ukraine to Strike Within Russia, Says Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Washington has "neither encouraged nor enabled" Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia, after three attacks were recorded at Russian airfields in the past week.
Facts
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Washington has "neither encouraged nor enabled" Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia, after three attacks were recorded at Russian airfields in the past week.
- Russia has repeatedly warned the US and its allies not to cross "red lines" by supplying long-range weapons to Ukraine — this has so far been heeded by western nations to avoid a major escalation. Nonetheless, Blinken said he's determined to ensure Ukrainians have, "the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom."
- In response to the attacks — which are believed to have been carried out with drones — Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin met with permanent members of his Security Council on Tuesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said additional measures were adopted to improve internal security.
- Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a Russian military truck collided with a minibus in the Donetsk region, reportedly killing 16 people and injuring three others who were later taken to hospital. It was not immediately clear what proportion of the deaths came from civilians or the military.
- In addition, separatist officials from the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said that four civilians were killed and 20 more were injured in Ukrainian attacks on the region over the past day.
- Ukrainian officials said that, in Russian attacks, three civilians were injured in Donetsk and two people were killed in Kherson. One civilian was also reported injured in each of Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy.
Sources: BBC News, Tass, and Ukrinform.
Narratives
- Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Yahoo News. Attacks on airfields deep inside Russian territory will have struck a major psychological blow to the country's officials. Now Moscow's leaders will have to think long and hard about how to protect its long-range bombers from future attacks.
- Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. Putin has already met with Russia's Security Council about the attacks, and new measures are being adopted to further secure Russian airfields. The situation is under control.
