A former deputy to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that she believes Russian military bases should be “fair game” for Ukraine to target in its ongoing war with its neighbor.
Appearing on the “This Week” program on ABC News recently, Victoria Nuland made the suggestion as debate rages on about whether a ban on firing U.S. weapons at any target that’s located within Russia’s borders should be lifted.
Nuland served as the under secretary of state for political affairs.
During her ABC News appearance, she said:
“I think there’s also a question of whether we, the United States and our allies, ought to give them more help in hitting Russian bases, which heretofore we have not been willing to do.”
She was asked directly whether Ukraine should be attacking these bases, and she responded:
“I think if the attacks are coming directly from over the line in Russia, that those bases ought to be fair game, whether they are where missiles are being launched from or where they are where troops are being supplied from.”
Recent attacks that Russia launched on Kharkiv started in the Belgorod region, which neighbors the Ukrainian city. Some officials in Ukraine have said that those attacks could have been prevented if they were allowed to attack targets located within Russia using American-supplied weapons.
Nuland’s stances about Russia and actions in the war with Ukraine have often resulted in people criticizing her. She retired from her position in March.
During her recent appearance, she said that the attacks that have happened in Kharkiv have shown that it “is time” for America to start providing assistance to Ukraine in attacking Russian bases.
She commented:
“I think it’s time for that, because Russia has obviously escalated the war, including, as you said, at the beginning, attacking Russia’s second city, Kharkiv, which is not on the front lines, and trying to decimate it without ever having to put a boot on the ground. So, I think it is time to give the Ukrainians more help hitting these bases inside Russia.
Last week, five Ukranians parliament members came to Washington to meet with officials in the Biden administration as well as lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They were trying to convince the U.S. to reverse its ban on having American-supplied weapons used in any way on attacks that occur on Russian targets within Russia’s borders.
To this point, those weapons have only been able to be used in defensive situations against Russian forces who have entered Ukraine.
Leaders in Ukraine have said multiple times that the weapons they produce aren’t good enough to attack legitimate Russian military targets. That’s why they need American-made arms to do so.
During a visit to Ukraine last week, Blinken said America still remained committed to helping Ukraine win the war. But, he also emphasized that they should focus on taking back territory that they’ve lost, rather than striking Russian troops in Russia.
