NEW YORK, June 1. /TASS/. The US does not encourage Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, because it does not want an escalation of the conflict, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told CNN Wednesday.
According to Kirby, the US’ position has not changed since the beginning of the conflict: Washington made it clear both in private and publicly that it does not endorse Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
"What we have said is we don't want to encourage or enable attacks inside Russia, because we don't want to see the war escalate […]," the official said.
According to Kirby, "a war against the West, a war against the United States, a war against NATO" is going to bring "a whole lot more suffering across the European continent."
"So we don't want to see this war escalate," he continued. However, he underscored that, once Ukraine receives weapons shipped by the US, "they get to decide what they're going to do with them."
"They have given us assurances that they won't use our equipment to strike inside Russia. But once it goes to them, it belongs to them," Kirby concluded.
Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow and Moscow Region on Tuesday morning. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 8 aircraft were involved in the attack, 5 of them were downed while 3 were suppressed by electronic warfare systems. Two people sought medical aid in Moscow, but required no hospitalization. A number of buildings sustained minor damage.