US Secretary of State Blinken says Ukraine is free to strike Russia with US-made weaponry.

James Coleman | 15th May, 2024.

During a visit to Kiev on May 15, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Ukraine must “make its own choice” about the use of US-made weapons to strike targets within Russia.

"We've not enabled or encouraged strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately, Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it's going to conduct this war," he stated.

The statements much softer than the earlier demands that Ukraine refrain from using NATO-made weapons on targets within Russia due to concerns about escalation and the possibility of a Russian retaliation against a NATO member. 

In response, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) sent a sharply worded statement reminding the West that Russia is authorized by military doctrine to use nuclear weapons in the event of an attack.

The Russian MFA stated on social media that "the Kiev regime and its Western masterminds should at long last admit that their reckless steps are pushing the situation ever closer towards the explosive tipping point." "The Russian Federation's Military Doctrine and the Basic Principles of State Policy on Nuclear Deterrence clearly define the military risks this is producing and the subsequent threats to our country.”

But since the US has been providing supplies to Ukraine slowly over the past six months, worsening the country's military condition, the country's western allies are easing the limitations on the use of their weapons in an attempt to strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The US has voiced complaints about Ukraine striking deep within Russian territory at Russian oil refineries with its own drones. Ukraine ought to pick "military targets" as opposed to attacking the refineries.

However, the US has also backed down from that criticism, revealed, as it appears that attacking oil refineries is effective.

 Blinken's remarks coincide with those of British Foreign Minister Lord David Cameron, who stated on a comparable visit to Kiev that the UK would not object if Ukraine utilized missiles built in the UK to target locations within Russia.

The Russian government strongly objected, threatening to retaliate by attacking UK assets "in Ukraine and outside."

In response to Ukrainian complaints that the prohibition on using NATO-manufactured weaponry to strike targets in Russia had contributed to Ukraine's losses, Blinken was questioned at a press conference on May 15 about Russia's open build-up of its forces inside Russian territory prior to crossing the border into Kharkiv Oblast as part of its most recent devastating assault.

Oleksandra Ustinova, the head of the Ukrainian parliamentary commission on arms and ammunition, told Politico that "we saw their military sitting one or two kilometers from the border inside Russia, and there was nothing we could do about that."

Specifically, the US has given Ukraine long-range ATACMS missiles, which it has already deployed to hit targets in Crimea, which is under occupation but is not recognized by the allies as Russian territory.

According to David Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's party, the Servant of the People, "the main problem right now is the White House policy to limit our capability" to strike military targets within Russia, the Kyiv Independent reported.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered hurried nuclear missile drills with non-strategic nuclear weapons last week as tensions continued to rise in response to the slow but steady buildup.

In a statement, the Russian MFA stated, "We would like to point out that these drills should be viewed in the context of the recent militant statements made by Western officials and the highly destabilizing actions taken by several Nato countries to increase military pressure on the Russian Federation."

"The issue primarily pertains to the overt endorsement of and direct support for the terrorist acts against Russia, which are being executed by the Kiev regime through the utilization of progressively more sophisticated Western armaments," the MFA stated.

The MFA emphasized the use of the recently dispatched, US-made ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, which have the ability to strike targets inside of Russia.

The MFA referred to a now-expired Cold War missile control agreement when it said, "At the same time, attempting to build up multifaceted missile threats to Russia, the US has openly and manifestly launched the deployment of ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles around the world, which were previously prohibited under the INF Treaty."


"We hereby declare explicitly that we reserve the right to respond in kind, regardless of the location of US-made intermediate- and shorter-range missiles, thereby terminating Russia's unilateral moratorium on the deployment of these weapon systems," the statement reads.