U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized that the US is not working to prevent Ukraine from developing its own long-range strike capabilities to strike the territory of the Russian Federation.

CNN reported this.

This statement was released amid strikes on Russian airfields in Engels, Ryazan, and Kursk. Before that, a high-ranking official of the U.S. Department of State suggested that it was Ukrainian forces that used drones to hit these targets. At the same time, no official statements came from Ukraine.

“We are not working to prevent Ukraine from developing their own capability,” Lloyd Austin said.

Victoria Nuland, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, shared that “nobody has claimed responsibility” for the drone strikes but added that “the Ukrainian people are incredibly innovative; they are making their own drones, air and sea, that are incredibly effective.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, commenting on the explosions at Russian airfields, stated that the US has “neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of the Russian Federation.”

Blinken, like other US officials, mentioned that he was aware of the reported drone strikes on Russian territory but had no further information.

As previously reported, on December 5 and 6, explosions occurred at airfields on the territory of the Russian Federation in Ryazan, Engels, and Kursk. Russian authorities reported that the strikes were carried out by drones.

The released satellite images, for example, from Engels, show that at least one turboprop strategic bomber jet suffered damage to the extent that it had to be extinguished as a result of the explosions.