WASHINGTON, May 15. /TASS/. The United States did not authorize Ukraine to use weapons shipped by Washington beyond Ukrainian territory, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba in Kiev.

"We have not encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine," he said, noting that Ukraine must decide on how to carry out combat action on its own.

Russia has repeatedly underscored that Western arms shipment and assistance in training of Ukrainian troops will only prolong the conflict and will not change the situation at the battlefield.