Allies' task is to supply weapons: Blinken on Ukraine's strikes on Russian territory

Antony Blinken said this at a hearing at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Radio Liberty reports.

At a hearing on Wednesday, a number of members of Congress questioned why the Joe Biden administration is prohibiting Ukraine from using US weapons to strike targets in Russia. In particular, they claimed that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was the proponent of the ban and emphasized that Congress had not imposed such restrictions in its decisions on aid.

Blinken said that America doesn't encourage such strikes, but emphasized that the task of the United States and its allies is to supply Ukraine with the weapons it needs to repel Russian aggression.

• On May 1, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said that Ukraine had already received Western weapons from some partners with permission to use them to strike at Russian territory.
• The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe said that the United States should allow Ukraine to strike military targets in Russia's border regions.
• Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that the weapons the US provides to Ukraine should be used within Ukrainian territory.
• According to the WSJ, Ukraine has asked the administration of US President Joe Biden to lift restrictions on the use of US weapons against military targets in Russia.