United States expecting Ukraine to use Western-provided weapons within its own territory – Austin

Ukraine has the opportunity to defend its sovereign territory. However, the United States expects that the state will use the provided weapons for domestic purposes.

This follows from a statement by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at a press conference in response to journalists' questions.

Austin was asked whether the Ukrainians should be able to use U.S. air defenses to target bombers in russian territory, as russian attacks cause extensive damage to both infrastructure and civilians.

"I would say that we -- we've clearly given Ukraine the ability to defend its -- to defend its sovereign territory. And again, the dynamics of the ... aerial combat, you know, I'd leave that to the experts, but you know, we expect that they will continue to use the weapons we have provided against targets inside Ukraine," Austin said.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown Jr., said that he was sure that the provided ATACMS were not used in russia but only for purposes in Ukraine. According to him, the United States is focused on supporting Ukraine to be able to use forces and means, especially those that will affect close combat in various areas and pay attention to what is happening in and around Kharkiv.

"But the real key point is to use the opportunities we have given them in close combat on those fronts where they are already operating, as well as in Crimea," Brown emphasized.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on May 20, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the following weeks and months will be decisive for Ukraine.

On March 19, Lloyd Austin promised that the United States would continue to support Ukraine's military efforts against aggressor russia.

At the same time, on April 10, Lloyd Austin criticized Ukraine's strikes on russian refineries.