The Times, citing its sources in the US Department of Defense, who wished to remain anonymous,
What does it mean?
Previously, the Pentagon feared that strikes against Russianterritories will lead to an escalation of the conflict: for example, that the Russian Federation will then use nuclear weapons or strike NATO countries in response. But now the department has changed its mind.
“We are still using the same escalation calculationsbut the fear of escalation has changed. Everything is different now. This is because the calculus of the war has changed as a result of the suffering and cruelty that Ukrainians are subjected to at the hands of the Russians,” the source notes.
This happened after numerous Russian attacks and shelling of Ukrainian critical civilian infrastructure and energy facilities.
“We do not tell Kyiv:“Don’t strike at the Russians.” We can't tell them what to do. How they use their weapons is up to them, however, when they use the weapons we provide, we only insist that the Ukrainian military follow the international laws of war and abide by the Geneva Conventions,” the Pentagon source emphasizes. According to him, Ukraine complies with these conditions.
At the same time, the United States does not publicly support or encourage strikes on Russian territory.